A Predicament Called Alice
by BrightShiningAsTheSun
Summary: A new woman has entered Sherlock Holmes' life, none other than Watson's younger sister. Will Sherlock get over his 'high-functioning sociopath' ways and finally get a girl? Or will Moriarty pay our favourite detective a visit before he gets the chance?
1. Her Name Is Alice

Doctor John Watson rolled his eyes for what, unfortunately, seemed like the millionth time that day.

"No." Sherlock had told him whilst glaring at him like a stubborn child.

"But why not?" He'd shot back.

"Because, John, women, _people_, are a distraction. Y_ou_ may have time for Sarah-" The detective spat out John's girlfriend's name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "In your petty, uninteresting life where you can afford to have yourself tied down. But I have a job which, as it happens, is my number one priority." Holmes snapped for what he hoped was the last time. His best and only friend sighed again.

"Fine. Fine. Forget I said anything..." John muttered as he fumbled in his pocket for the keys to their flat. They walked in silence to the stairs and John managed to get halfway up before he stopped and turned to his flatmate. "Um, Sherlock? Before we go upstairs..." The doctor mused. Sherlock fixed him with an icy glare.

"Yes..?" Holmes tried to step around his friend but John blocked his way with an awkward smile.

"There's something I need to tell you." Sherlock's face suddenly softened and he put a hand on his chest.

"You... You're not breaking up with me, are you John?" John ignored his sarcastic comment but he saw Sherlock starting to move again and continued.

"Seriously though..." He pressed, blocking another of the detective's attempts to climb the stairs. "Last week I got some... News." He watched as Sherlock raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"And?"

"_And_... Well, it's my-"

"John? Is that you?" A sudden loud voice shouted from the top of the stairs, coming from their flat. The two men looked at each other and John gave the detective a nervous grin. Sherlock narrowed his eyes and pushed past him, hurrying up the stairs. He burst into the flat and stared at the woman sitting on his sofa. Though she looked initially surprised at his sudden entrance, she smiled at him kindly as she stood up. "Sherlock Holmes, I presume." She said, offering him her hand.

"Ah..." Sherlock turned to John, who was just entering the room behind him. He looked guilty, and rightly so, but what was the meaning of all this? John nodded his head, walking forward to stand beside the woman. "Sherlock, this is Alice, my sister. She'll be staying with us for a while." Sherlock's eyes widened and he turned back to the woman with absolute horror written on his face.


	2. You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry

"No." Sherlock almost growled. The strange woman, who he now knew to be Alice, dropped her hand and her smile faded away.

"What?" She murmured in disbelief. Sherlock ignored her as he turned to face John.

"She can't stay here!" He shouted at Watson. Alice was taken aback. Her brother had warned her about his flatmate's oddness, something she had thought she could handle. But this wasn't odd behaviour, this was just plain rude.

"_Excuse_ me?" She squeaked, frowning at the back of the tall man's head. Holmes turned to her, but it was only to shush her before returning his attention to John. This made Alice even angrier, but she took a deep breath and pushed the feeling back down. First impressions and all. "I said, excuse me?"

"And _I _said, shhh!" Sherlock bit back, turning momentarily to her, then Watson again. Watson sent her a pleading look that clearly meant 'give me a minute' before he gave Sherlock an exasperated sigh.

"Why not?" He asked, despairingly.

"Because! She'll get in the way, there's barely enough room as it is and-" Alice never heard the long list of arguments against her brother's simple question. Something in her head simply snapped. She huffed angrily and cast her eyes around the room for something heavy. She spotted her guitar case and smiled. That would do nicely. She dug it out from the huge pile of suitcases and bags she'd brought with her and hefted it over her shoulder with both hands gripping the neck. Watson glanced over his friend's shoulder at the sign of movement and saw his darling baby sister about to clobber Holmes over the head. "She'll make the flat-"

"Duck." Watson told him distractedly. Sherlock stopped his rant mid-flow and lowered one eyebrow at him questioningly.

"What?"

"Now!" Sherlock's eyes widened and he spun around, just as Alice swung her instrument. Luckily he ducked just in time. Sherlock staggered back to firm footing and spread his arms wide.

"What the hell?" He yelled at her. Alice carefully placed the guitar down on a nearby armchair, somewhat contradicting the way she would have happily smashed it against his head a minute ago.

"You were being extremely rude to me" She said simply. Sherlock balled his hands into fists.

"What on Earth do-"

"Now you listen here!" She stated, suddenly advancing on poor Sherlock. "You have absolutely no right to talk to me like that! How dare you!" As she walked forwards, Holmes walked backwards, meaning that he was now being backed up against the wall. Alice was a good few inches shorter than Sherlock, but he still felt incredibly intimidated by the dark haired girl. This didn't happen often. In fact, it never happened. "Now, I like this just as much as you do," She continued. By now she'd grabbed his violin bow that had been leaning up against the sofa and was using it to poke him in the chest. "But you are going to have to get used to it! I have nowhere else to go and John is basically my only family left so you are just going to have to grin and bear it!" Sherlock stood with his mouth hanging open slightly. Watson was ready to jump into action, expecting Sherlock to give her some witty remark and intimidate her by doing his analysing thing... But he didn't. He only closed his mouth with a snap and stared her dead in the eye for a few seconds. She stepped back, giving him room to step forward.

"Fine." Was all he said. Alice smiled victoriously and turned to her brother who was standing dumbstruck at his friend's uncharacteristic surrender.

"Where will I be sleeping?" She asked brightly, as if she hadn't just threatened a man with a violin bow. Watson pointed down the corridor.

"First door on the right, you'll have my room." He said absently. She smiled as she gathered up her bags and started down the corridor to John's room. Watson watched as Sherlock shook his head of something he'd been thinking about and sat down in his chair, his fingers templed. "Why?" Was all he could ask his friend.

"She... Interests me." He said staring into the fireplace. '_I think I may have found the end to my boredom.'_ He thought to himself and he smiled.


	3. Apologies, Deductions and Realisations

**Chapter 3)**

John opened his eyes and stretched his arms above his head. He stretched his back and grunted as it clicked. He sat up and almost cried out in shock.

"Good morning, John." Sherlock said from his favourite armchair. Watson had until now been asleep on the sofa and Holmes had been, from John's point of view, watching him sleep.

"Y- You... How long have you been up?" Watson tried to act as normally as possible.

"About half an hour. Oh, and to put your already burnt out mind at rest, I've been reading. Not staring at you." The detective smirked at the uncomfortable look on his friend's face.

"Quite right, too." John nodded. He stood, fully clothed, and walked into their kitchen. "Tea?" He called.

"Yes, but no sugar this morning, please." The Doctor stopped what he was doing.

"Why..?" he asked slowly. Although he couldn't see Holmes, he knew he was rolling his eyes.

"No reason. Oh, and I wouldn't go near the freezer if I were you."

"Do I want to know why?" John poked his head out from the kitchen doorway so he could properly see Holmes.

"No, not really."

"Right." He brought him his tea and sat down on the sofa after he had cleared away his duvet. "I hope you'll warn Alice about your experiments."

"Ah, right. Yes, I probably should." He smiled and took a sip of his tea. "We don't want to scare dear Alice away after only one night." The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"_Dear _Alice? Yesterday you couldn't stand the thought of her even living here!" Sherlock nearly choked on his tea.

Damn.

"It was a slip of the tongue, John, nothing more." He protested in a bored manner.

"Yes, people do that. But no one has ever accidentally called anyone 'dear' before." Watson sent him a smug look. The awkward silence was broken by Alice walking into the room.

"Good morning, John." She said, smiling at her brother. "Morning, Sherlock." She said, a little more quietly.

"Morning." They both replied. Alice sat down next to her brother and cleared her throat.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about yesterday, Sherlock." Holmes had been staring absent mindedly (or the Sherlock Holmes equivalent) into his cup of tea but when she mentioned his name, his eyes moved upwards to look at her.

"Don't worry about it, Alice, I was being inhospitable. I should have let you explain your situation better before making a decision." Watson stared at his friend, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. Sherlock Holmes may be a good man, a genius and sometimes even a good friend, but in all the time he'd know him, he had never once heard him apologise.

"No 'dear Alice' this time then?" John noted. Sherlock growled at him but Alice laughed.

"Dear Alice?" Holmes was starting to get a sense of déjà vu. "Yesterday you couldn't-"

"Stand the thought of you even living here?" He guessed. Watson smirked,

"Another slip of the tongue?" He asked meaningfully. Sherlock scowled at him as Alice frowned.

"How did you-"

"We were just having the same conversation." John told her. Alice sent Sherlock a sly smile.

"So you were talking about me, were you?" Sherlock's eyes widened a fraction and he stood up.

"No. Of course not. Don't be-" He was about to tell her not to be stupid but he knew what insulting people usually lead to. He didn't usually care but he didn't want Alice to think that he was rude. Not that he cared _at all_ about how she felt. "Just... Just don't!" He shouted as he left the room. A few minutes later, after Sherlock had gotten over his sulking, all three were sitting back in the living room watching TV. This was when Sherlock threw his head back and shouted,

"Bored!" Making Alice jump. Watson on the other hand was used to such outbursts.

"If you're bored, why don't you solve one of your cases?" Watson told him. Sherlock didn't even bother to look up.

"Boring!"

"Cases?" Alice asked. Sherlock frowned at her.

"I thought John had told you all about me?" Alice shrugged so he carried on. "I'm a consulting detective."

"Meaning what exactly?"

"It means when the police are out of their depth, which is always, they consult me." Alice laughed, catching the detective by surprise.

"You are so full of it!" She said in between fits of giggles. Watson thought he saw Sherlock's usually hard gaze soften. When her laughs had subsided she questioned him,

"John told me that you... Analyse people? So that you can tell practically everything about them, is that right?" Sherlock nodded.

"In a way, yes." Alice smiled.

"Do me." She said brightly. Sherlock twisted his mouth.

"I don't know. People tend not to like what I discover."

"He's right!" John cut in. He didn't really want Sherlock knowing everything deep and secret about his sister.

"Oh, please!" she begged. "He's bored and I want to see if he's as good as he thinks he is!" She sent Holmes a mischievous grin. Sherlock studied her face for a moment, deciding what to do.

"Are you absolutely sure?" He asked slowly, sending a wary glance at John.

"Please." She reached across the arm of the sofa and grabbed his hand, pulling his attention back to her, and gave him her biggest eyes. Watson rolled his eyes.

"Ally, the 'puppy dog eyes' don't work on me. They're definitely not going to work on Sher-"

"Okay." Sherlock interrupted. Alice grinned whilst Watson, again, stared at Holmes and thought for what was not the first time _'What the Hell is going on in that man's head?'_ The 'puppy dog eyes', as Watson had put it, had worked. Once again she had melted her way through his icy exterior. Sherlock raised his eyebrows and stood. He moved across the room and sat on the sofa parallel to her with his legs crossed, mirroring her position. After he'd kicked off John of course. Sherlock leaned closer to Alice, studying her features and taking in every detail, then suddenly he sat up straight. "Your fingers are long and strong, you've played guitar since you were little, I'd say about 8. I also know this because you tried to beat me with it yesterday..." Alice couldn't help but wince slightly.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry; it's not the first time." Sherlock shrugged it off.

"What?"

"Over the past years you've had numerous boyfriends but you only lived with one of them, the latest one." He continued.

"How-"

"At school you didn't have any friends. They thought you were weird and you probably were, judging by the fact that you have no pictures of friends on your phone or in frames."

"You went through my phone?"

"You're not close with any of your family apart from John, that's the reason you came to stay with us. You fought with your older sister Harriet and you never got on with your parents because of your choice of boyfriends. You left school with few GCSEs; you're not exactly the smartest girl."

"Watch it." Alice warned, her eyes narrowed.

"On the other hand, you were good at English and you write a lot, you have indents and impressions on your index finger where your pen and your thumb nail have pressed against your skin. A man on the train over here fancied you; you've got his number written on the back of your hand. You're worried about something, something that John doesn't know about. You are also a little scared of me but since this morning has gone quite normally and has been _very _dull, you've relaxed." He finally let go of her hands and Alice let out a long breath.

"That was brilliant... Strange but brilliant!"

"You think so?"

"Of course it was. It was amazing!"

"That's not what people normally say." He said with a slightly morose look.

"What do people normally say?" Alice asked him, guessing that she already knew the answer.

"Piss off." Alice grinned. Sherlock suddenly frowned. "There's something else..." Alice frowned back.

"Go on." But Sherlock shook his head.

"No, I don't know if I should. People tend to feel even more intruded when I discover something they don't want others knowing."

"It'll be fine. I want to see what you can do." He grabbed her hands again, not that he needed to.

"I briefly mentioned your recent boyfriend and how you were with him the longest. I just hadn't interpreted how long..." Watson frowned slightly but didn't say anything. "You've been on holiday somewhere hot recently. You have a tan line over where you engagement ring used to be."

"Engagement ring?" Watson asked Alice who hid behind a curtain of hair.

"My guess is that you've never had a job in your life, you went straight from college to this man you were engaged too. He was older and very rich; you didn't even have to lift a finger. Hence all the suitcases. He bought you a rather excessive amount of gifts." Alice was becoming increasingly uncomfortable under Sherlock's gaze. "After the holiday was over you broke it off with him, having realised what a mistake you'd made. You wanted someone younger-"

"Stop it!" She said, wrenching her hands from his. Sherlock sat back in surprise. "It just goes to show, Mr. Holmes." She continued. "You're not as good as you think you are after all." Sherlock twisted his mouth again.

"On what accounts?" Alice took a deep breath.

"I didn't leave him because he was too old and I just wanted to keep the presents he'd bought me. It was because he..." She glanced quickly at her brother. "Took advantage of me. In ways I don't feel comfortable talking about in front of my big brother."

"Why didn't you report him to the police?" Watson asked, very concerned.

"It's like Sherlock said, they're out of their depth most of the time. They don't have time for domestics."

"I'm sorry, Alice." Sherlock spoke suddenly after staying silent since her outburst. "I shouldn't have-"

"No, don't be. I forced you to do this. And anyway, I'm relieved that I've finally told John, he was going to find out sooner or later. I just wish it wasn't in front of my new roommate who I only met yesterday." Sherlock gave her a wry smile. They were interrupted by the phone ringing. Watson answered it.

"That was Lestrade. Looks like you've finally got an interesting case." Sherlock jumped up from the sofa and started to put his coat on with the_ biggest_ smile on his face.

"What is it? Murder? Suicide? Bombing?" Watson raised his eyebrows at his happiness. "I mean, how sad, what a shame... Anyway!" He bounded down the corridor and Watson followed. "C'mon Wonderland, your coming too!" Alice walked to the top of the stairs.

"Wonderland?" She asked, grinning. Sherlock grinned back.

"Your favourite book when you were a child was _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_. Partly because you shared your name with the main character but also because you always dreamed that you'd someday find a magical World of your own." He deducted sarcastically. Alice mocked annoyance.

"Okay, now that's just scary."

"You love it really." He argued playfully, giving her a wink.


	4. New To The (Crime) Scene

**Chapter 4)**

A half hour taxi ride later, Alice, Holmes and Watson were at the crime scene and were greeted by Lestrade. Playing it fast and loose with the term greeted, of course.

"Where've you lot been?" He asked Sherlock.

"Sorry, Lestrade, the traffic was bloody awful." John answered. Sherlock had ignored him as usual and wandered past.

"And who might this be?" He said gesturing to Alice.

"I'm Alice." She answered giving him a shy smile.

"She's my assistant for this evening! Means I don't have to work with that prat." Sherlock announced, appearing suddenly beside Lestrade.

"Oi!" Anderson called from somewhere behind them. Alice raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"She's my sister." Watson informed the Detective Inspector. Sherlock groaned and walked towards the fluttering police tape.

"Fine, but don't let her get in the way." Lestrade warned and turned his back on them to talk to a police officer. John put his hand on Alice's back and guided her towards the yellow police tape.

"Why did you tell him that?" She whispered to her brother. "I'd quite like to be a detective's assistant."

"No, you wouldn't." John told his now sulking sister. Sherlock watched Alice from a distance and didn't notice when Donovan stepped in front of him.

"Hey, Freak!" she said and he _almost_ jumped.

"What do you want, Donovan?" He asked and sent her a dark look.

"Who's the girl?" She asked him, ignoring his usual annoyed attitude towards her."A friend of yours?"

"John's sister." He answered. Donovan nodded and smirked slightly.

"She's pretty." It was more of a statement than a question. Sherlock looked over at Alice again. She _was_ pretty. She had dark, wavy hair that fell past her shoulders and big, dark brown eyes that showed wit, intelligence and a general curiosity at everything. She was tall for a girl but still smaller than him, even with her long willowy legs. She had creamy, pale skin and a perfect smile that lit up her face when she laughed. Yes... Very pretty. Sherlock tore his gaze away from her to answer Donovan.

"I suppose."

"You think she's gorgeous" Donovan teased him. Sherlock glared at her. He opened his mouth to retort but Lestrade had called his name.

"Sherlock! Get over here!" He sent a warning look at Donovan before quickly walking over to the Detective.

"Have you found something?"

"Only this. And it's mostly just gibberish anyway." He handed Holmes a piece of paper. Alice and John stood next to him hoping to get a glimpse of what they'd found. "Make any sense to you?" Lestrade asked Sherlock who shook his head.

"It definitely means something..." Sherlock thought aloud. Suddenly, he started pacing back and forth, rubbing his forehead. Everyone jumped back out of his way. "It's a code. It means something." Alice wanted to be helpful so she tried to read the torn piece of paper. It read,

**GAP string is at:**

**hONEstly fOrtuNE,**

**Womble,**

**Tennis.**

"It's a code; I just need some time at working it out." She didn't understand the second part but the first part... Something clicked in Alice's brain.

"Sherlock?" He stopped pacing and raised an eyebrow, looking down at her. She was suddenly extremely nervous. He had a ridiculously intense gaze and under it, she felt small and stupid. She cleared her throat and made herself match his gaze, trying desperately to ignore just how icy his bright blue eyes were up close. "I know the answer." She told him, feigning confidence. Sherlock tilted his head to one side,

"What? Really?" She nodded and pointed to the first line and the word 'string'. "That means clue. The word clue originally meant the end of a ball of string. You'd unravel a ball of string like you'd unravel a mystery!" She explained, rather pleased with herself. Sherlock was starting to smile.

"And GAP?" Alice sent him a look that Sherlock didn't get often but he used regularly. It read '_It's obvious! Why aren't you getting this?'_

"GAP is a clothes shop." She pointed to the word GAP. "And so is Next. So... It means the next clue is at!" Sherlock grinned down at her.

"Fantastic, Wonderland. I knew it was a good idea having you around." He praised and Alice blushed. Sherlock looked up and waved to Watson who was standing a few feet away, talking to Lestrade. "John, c'mon we're going home!"

They walked away from the crime scene, not even bothering to know what had happened there in the first place. Sherlock likes his puzzles. Watson caught up with his sister and grabbed her arm.

"Hey, get you." He said, obviously impressed by his sister's detective work. "How'd you know that about the string and clues and stuff?" Alice shrugged,

"I read it somewhere once, you may be a Doctor but that doesn't mean you're the smartest sibling." She replied cheekily. "You never know, I might actually get a job as Sherlock's assistant." She joked. John frowned; he didn't take it as a joke.

"Alice, it's not all fun and games." He chastised and Alice rolled her eyes. "He investigates dead people and exposes maniacs, I don't want you getting into that sort of thing, it's dangerous." Alice chuckled at her brother's protectiveness.

"John, I was just-"

"And, not to mention, we don't have no idea what goes on in that man's head." He continued, jabbing a thumb in Sherlock's direction. "He's a complete psychopath!"

"I'm actually a high-functioning sociopath, John, use your vocabulary." Argued Sherlock who had somewhat magically appeared beside them.

"Still, Alice, this man is crazy!" Watson argued.

"I prefer unpredictable."

"John, it's not like it's gonna lead anywhere. I was just joking."

"Still, did you know until last week he kept a human head in the fridge?" Watson raised his eyebrows at her. Sherlock rolled his eyes.

"Well, there was probably no room in the freezer." Alice told him with a completely serious face. Watson stared at her.

"Oh, my God there's two of them!" He muttered and continued walking. Sherlock grinned at her.

"You understand 'head in fridge' and help me on my cases. I'm really starting to like you, Wonderland." Alice only rolled her eyes and walked after her brother.


	5. Sword Fighting and Wombles?

**Chapter 5)**

The next day, Alice was stretched out on Sherlock's sofa, probably asleep. Sherlock was on the armchair and not best pleased about it. His long legs hung over one arm whilst his head lolled over the other, his hands pressed together and his eyes closed. He had walked into the room expecting to sit on _his _sofa but she'd been there. If any other person had been sitting on his sofa, they'd have been kicked off in a matter of seconds... But not Alice. John had noticed this. He was sat on another chair beside the kitchen and had been ready to leap up at any moment and defend her, but Sherlock only came in, studied Alice for a second then settled on the armchair. Watson was pondering over this when Sherlock suddenly bounded up and grabbed his jacket.

"C'mon, we're going for a walk!"

"A what?" Alice asked sleepily. Sherlock rolled his eyes and threw her jumper at her. "Hey!" Her cry was slightly muffled from under the offending clothing.

"We're going for a walk!" He repeated. "I need some air! I need a change of scenery! I can't think with you two being so..."

"Normal?" Alice guessed, getting up and putting her jumper on. Sherlock nodded.

"Yes! Thank you for not being offended." Alice shrugged.

"No problem, freak." Sherlock glared at her playfully.

"Have you been talking to Donovan?"

"Nope, I figured that one out for myself." She passed him and went down the stairs. Sherlock watched her walk away and grinned, shaking his head. John cleared his throat and sent him a look.

"What?!" John just rolled his eyes and walked down the stairs after Alice. "What?!" Sherlock repeated, following him.

They walked down the crowded London streets, mostly following Holmes. It was a beautiful July afternoon and Alice was all set to enjoy it, but of course that was hard when you're trying to keep up with Sherlock Holmes. He suddenly turned a sharp right and they crossed the road, surrounded by the blare of London traffic. A few more steps and they were in Regent's Park. Alice smiled; this was one of her favourite places in the World.

"Why are we at the park?" John asked. Alice walked past them and started skipping slightly.

"Who cares? Isn't it a beautiful day?" Sherlock watched her with a look of curiosity and a smile. They walked around for a while, Sherlock thinking all the way. Although not all thinking was directed towards the clue... Alice was getting slightly bored so she decided to have some fun.

"En garde!" Alice cried, jumping in front of her brother with a large stick she'd found. John rolled his eyes at her.

"Ally, try and act your age for once." He told her and stepped around her. Alice pouted at his retreating form as he walked down the pathway.

"Faites attention, Wonderland, vous avez un défi!" Alice turned around to find Sherlock also holding a stick. _'Be careful, Wonderland, you have a challenge!' _She translated in her head.

"Vous parlez le Français?" she asked him with a surprised look. Sherlock grinned at her.

"Oui. Eh bien, un peu de toute façon." He answered with a smug grin.

"En garde!" She said and raised her stick. Sherlock grinned at the challenge. Alice suddenly lunged forward with one arm behind her back. Sherlock blocked her attack barely and then tried to attack her. She flipped her stick around his and threw it into the air. Sherlock watched it fly before it landed a few feet away.

"What..?" he asked mystified slightly. Alice sent him a smug grin.

"I think you mean: quoi?" Sherlock stared at her.

"So you speak French _and _you know how to fence?" He asked in disbelief. Alice walked over to his beaten stick and picked it up.

"It's like you said, Sherlock. When I was a kid, I had no friends, no social life, no nothing." She smiled sadly. "So my parents forced me to go to a fencing club in the hope that I'd make some friends. I was pretty good at it." Sherlock nodded and raised his weapon again. This time he wasn't going to go so easy on her. After about 10 seconds worth of fighting, Sherlock's stick was torn from his hand again.

"That still doesn't explain the French." Alice watched as he grabbed his weapon. She shrugged.

"GCSE and A-Level French." Sherlock grunted in understanding. John had eventually realised that he was walking alone and had retraced his steps, watching their fight. Alice lunged forward again and instead of hitting his stick, she stabbed him, only gently though. Sherlock caught her stick under his arm and cried out in mock pain.

"Oh, you got me!" He cried and put a hand to his forehead. Alice giggled and walked up to him, hoping to get her 'sword' back. But Sherlock had other ideas. He was still pretending to die, so he let his legs buckle and he fell backwards, grabbing Alice's hand and pulling her down with him.

"Oof! Oh, nicely done! You're so elegant!" She mocked annoyance from on top of him. Sherlock just sent her a look.

"Well, you're not exactly a fairy princess!"

"Hey!" She hit him gently on the shoulder and rolled of him, still holding onto his hand.

"Honestly, you two!" John despaired, walking past them. Sherlock quickly let go of her hand as John was watching them. Alice was surprised at how disappointed this made her feel. "You're both acting like 6 year olds!" Alice and Sherlock turned to each other simultaneously,

"I didn't think we were acting like 6 year olds." Alice said, to which Sherlock replied,

"No, neither did I."

"John can be so touchy."

"Terribly so." They both stood up and tried to catch up with John.

* * *

><p>Sherlock hurried up the stairs first, nearly crashing into Mrs. Hudson on the way, just to lie down on his sofa.<p>

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mrs. Hudson." Alice told their old landlady.

"It's quite alright, dear. I'm used to him by now." Alice smiled at her and thanked her again for letting her stay in the flat before hurrying upstairs. She walked into the flat and closed the door, rolling her eyes at Sherlock grinning at her triumphantly from the sofa. She picked up the piece of paper with the clue on it and sat down cross legged on the armchair. It was a small, red, square shaped card with letters that had been typed onto it in capitals.

"Any luck with the clue, Sherlock?" Watson asked when he saw Alice looking at it.

"A bit." He got up and stood beside Alice's chair. He lent over her shoulder and ran a finger along the top line. Alice felt her face grow hot as he leant against her shoulder. "You see how some letters are bigger than others, they spell out numbers. See, it says one one..." She looked up into his eyes and felt her heart thud.

"Wow..." She couldn't help it, it just slipped out. She blushed when he raised his eyebrows. "Um... Carry on." she managed to utter.

"And 'Tennis'? The most famous Tennis grounds would be Wimbledon." Alice nodded. "But that's about it, I'm afraid."

"What about this part?" Alice ran a finger along 'Womble'. Sherlock sighed.

"That's exactly my point. What's a Womble?" Alice laughed when she realised he was serious.

"You mean you never watched 'The Wombles' on telly?" Sherlock frowned. "They were these cute little animal things that lived on Wimbledon Common..." She trailed off and Sherlock raised an eyebrow.

"What? What is it?" Alice stared at the paper, then at Sherlock, then back to the paper.

"'Womble'. Where did the Wombles live? Wimbledon Common! I used to live near there. So it's an address!" She finished proudly.

"So it's 11, Wimbledon Common, Wimbledon."

"Yeah, all the shops that are by the park." She agreed. He stared at her.

"You amaze me, Wonderland." Alice shrugged and sent him a kind smile.

"Someone has to, you amaze everyone else." Sherlock raised his eyebrows and Alice went bright red. She looked suddenly down at her lap, trying to hide the blush that covered her face. Watson could only sigh and raise his eyebrows when he saw the look of utter joy on Sherlock's face as he went to sit back on his chair.

'This is going to be a long few weeks...' He thought.


	6. Rymans And Late Night Heart To Hearts

**Chapter 6)**

Alice sat up straight in bed. She checked her alarm clock that sat on top of a little chest of drawers.

"6:30..?" She read. "Ah, crap." That was _way_ too early. Still, there was no way she was getting back to sleep now that she was up. She moaned and slid her legs out from under the covers. She checked her appearance in the mirror as she walked by and sighed at her hair which was standing up at odd angles. "Bloody Mondays." She muttered. Even though she didn't have a job or anywhere to go this early in the morning, she still felt the curse of Monday mornings hanging above her head. She stumbled into the living room and jumped in shock. Why the Hell would you dissect a foot on the living room table? "Sherlock! What the Hell are you-"

"It's an experiment!" The detective argued, not even bothering to look up from his work. She just rolled her eyes and sat down on the sofa with a loud 'humph'. "Sulking will get you nowhere." Sherlock warned her.

"You do it." Alice pointed out. Sherlock looked up for a second then glared at her.

"Shut up." Alice smiled, happy in the knowledge that she'd annoyed him. She glanced sideways and noticed John's laptop was turned on and was showing Google Maps.

"Isn't that John's laptop?" she asked.

"Yep." Alice raised an eyebrow.

"John told you his password?" Sherlock answered in the same bored manner as he did to her first question.

"Nope." Alice laughed and picked up the laptop.

"So we're going after the second clue today?" Sherlock nodded.

"Yes, I was just looking up exactly where we're going." Alice nodded. Sherlock stood from his kneeling position and peeled off his gloves.

"Ew." Alice muttered. He sat down next to her and pointed the laptop screen.

"Didn't you say you used to live around there?"

"Yep, when I lived with..." She trailed off, so Sherlock finished her sentence for her.

"When you lived with Calum." Alice frowned.

"I don't remember telling you his name." Sherlock gave her a guilty smile.

"Ah, well, after you first moved in, I looked you up. You were engaged to a _very_ wealthy man, it was bound to be somewhere on the Internet." Alice sighed, still staring at the computer screen.

"Yeah, right..." She said sadly. Sherlock put his head on one side and studied her.

"What exactly did he do to you?" Alice looked up at him; her beautiful eyes were suddenly wet with tears. _'When did you start describing her as beautiful?'_ Sherlock battled with his thoughts.

"He-"

"Good morning!" John called as he sat down in the armchair. Alice shut her mouth quickly; she didn't want to tell John just yet. Sherlock couldn't help but send a glare at John.

'So close.'

Sherlock, John and Alice walking in a horizontal line down Wimbledon High Street. They were following Sherlock and looking out for number 11. Sherlock suddenly stopped and entered a Ryman's stationary shop. Alice and John nearly crashed into each other in an attempt to skid to a sudden stop and follow Sherlock.

"Does he always do that?" Alice asked, rubbing her elbowed ribs as she followed her brother into the shop.

"Pretty much, yeah."John agreed, flexing the toes of his stepped on foot. Alice looked around the brightly lit shop and breathed in the delicious smell of paper and homely warmth. She hadn't thought about what kind of shop it was going to be but the more she thought about, the more a stationary stop made sense. The clue had mentioned string and next to a large shelf-full is where they found their detective.

"So it was a clue within the clue?" Alice asked, keeping her voice low.

"A clue within the clue." Sherlock agreed. They stared at the pile of balls of string and Alice let out a whistle.

"This should be easy." Alice murmured sarcastically. Sherlock ignored her comment and started pawing through the shelves. Alice and John cast exasperated looks over their shoulders, checking to see if anyone was watching the detective and his disregard for all things subtle.

"Ah-hah!" Sherlock cried and waved his hands in the air.

"Detectives actually say that?" Alice asked and rolled her eyes. Sherlock ignored her again and Alice wondered if that was becoming a permanent attitude towards her. He pointed to the wall and then to Watson.

"Phone." John, to Alice's surprise, didn't seem at all deterred by Sherlock's rudeness. Perhaps he, like Mrs. Hudson, was used to his abruptness. Alice probably never would be. She came back from her thoughts to see Sherlock taking a picture of what ever he'd found and then piling the string back up again.

"Um, sir?" The three of them turned and found a woman wearing a red Ryman's uniform. Her name tag told them her name was 'Meg'. She was staring at Sherlock with a raised eyebrow.

"Can I help you?" Sherlock asked her, stepping forward and giving her a warm smile. The woman seemed somewhat mystified by him, the same feeling Alice had when he smiled at herself. _'God help her.' _Alice couldn't help but think.

"I, um, I was just wondering what you were doing with the string..?" The woman asked slowly and carefully. Sherlock smiled again and nodded.

"Oh, yes that's quite understandable. I was just telling Alice here-" He gestured to Alice and she gave the woman a little wave. "Just how neatly everything was shelved. You do a very good job around here." Alice thought the woman was going to melt in her shoes.

"Shouldn't we be going?" John pressed. Sherlock nodded.

"Yes, we should be. Thank you." He nodded again at the woman and walked past her out of the door.

"What was that?" Alice asked him once they were outside. Sherlock raised an eyebrow.

"What was what?" Alice shook her head.

"The flirting." Sherlock started walking back down the street and Alice trotted beside him.

"That was not flirting." Alice snorted and Sherlock suddenly felt annoyed by her questions. "What does it matter to you anyway?" Alice stopped in her tracks.

"Nothing... It doesn't. I'm sorry I mentioned it." Sherlock nodded once and carried on walking, feeling slightly guilty at the way he'd snapped at her. John grabbed Alice's arm and pulled her back.

"You really must stop doing this." She muttered, glaring at him slightly. Watson just shook his head.

"I saw the way you were looking at him."

"What?" Alice moaned.

"You're jealous aren't you? Of the way he was talking to the shop assistant." Alice sent him a fully fledged glare.

"No!" She unwrapped her arm from his a stormed off. John sighed.

"It's like dealing with children." He complained and followed the other two.

Late that night, Alice sat on the window seat in the living room, staring up into the dark night. She glanced at the analogue clock above the fireplace. _12:00. _She gently strummed a chord on her guitar and smiled sadly.

"Another well rested night." She muttered. Bored of watching the midnight taxi's drive past, she glanced up at the sky and remembered a song from an old Disney film she'd watched with Calum's nephew. She started softly strumming her guitar again. "Like a bolt out of the blue, Fate steps in and see's you through, when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true..."

"Should you be up this late singing songs, Wonderland?" Alice practically jumped out of her skin and she nearly dropped her guitar.

"Sherlock!" The detective was standing in the doorway, watching her.

"I thought you'd be asleep." He wasn't asking. Alice sighed.

"Couldn't." She said simply. Sherlock nodded and sat opposite her on the window seat. "How about you, why are you up?" He shrugged.

"Thinking."

"Right." Sherlock moved his gaze from staring out of the window to looking into her eyes.

"Earlier... You were going to tell me what Calum had done to you." Alice gave him a small smile.

"Damn. I thought you'd have forgotten by now." Sherlock allowed a low chuckle to escape from his lips.

"I never forget the things that matter." Alice slipped her dressing gown off her shoulders and slid one vest top strap down. A large, purple bruise could clearly be seen.

"He was so nice when we first met." She whispered. "He took me to parties and bought me presents and told me he loved me. But then... His business started losing money. He'd come home drunk and he'd hit me." Sherlock gazed at her sadly. "So I left him and I came here. I never did thank you properly." She realised.

"No need." Alice smiled again. "You don't deserve to be treated like that, Alice." He took one of her hands in his and stroked it gently with his thumb. "I promise you'll never come to any harm while you live here. I swear to you that I won't let _anyone_ hurt you." Alice squeezed his hand.

"I know." Sherlock smiled.

"C'mon then, off to bed with you." He stood up and pulled her up after him.

"Goodnight, Sherlock." Alice whispered and she walked into her room.

"Good night, Wonderland." He whispered back.


	7. Death, Bombs And A Secret Smile

**Chapter 7)**

**I'd just like to thank Jemima123 for inspiring to write my story in the first place and CaptainCrash who's inspiration of me has inspired myself. I love you both! :) xxx**

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><p>"They still might be asleep." Mrs. Hudson told Lestrade as she led him up the stairs. "I heard them moving around up there past midnight."<p>

"Right." Lestrade pretended to listen out of politeness.

"Sherlock's taken quite a shine to Alice." That caught his attention.

"Really..?" He asked slowly. Mrs. Hudson nodded.

"Hmm, I've never seen him like it!" Lestrade smiled. _'I'll have to remember that.' _"Right, here you are."

"Thank you." Lestrade took off his hat and entered their flat. John walked in reading the newspaper and looked up when he saw him.

"Ah, Greg! Good morning." He said cheerily.

"What's so good about it?" Lestrade asked him gravely.

"What..?"

"Is Sherlock here?" He asked abruptly. John nodded and went to wake the detective. He passed Alice on the way as she came into the living room, wrapped in a dressing gown. "Oh, you're still here are you?" Lestrade asked. Alice frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked indignantly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just been a long morning. I thought that living with Sherlock Holmes would have driven you insane by now. Either that or he'd used you in some experiment." Alice sent him and apologetic and somewhat amused smile. Watson appeared again, dragging Sherlock with him.

"There better be a good reason why you have woken me up at the crack of dawn." Lestrade frowned.

"It's 11 o'clock!" Sherlock rolled his eyes.

"Let's get another opinion. Alice? Is 11 o' clock the crack of dawn?" Alice didn't hesitate.

"Most definitely."

"See." He informed the other detective with a smug look.

"Anyway, there's been another murder." Sherlock rolled his eyes and grabbed his jacket.

"Who is it? Some middle aged banker who's wider than he is tall and owes our clue maker money?" Lestrade put a hand on his chest to stop him walking out the door.

"No not quite." Alice slipped on her jumper.

"Then who?" Lestrade looked extremely uncomfortable.

"She's a 10 year old girl."

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><p>The blue and white police tape fluttered slightly in the morning breeze. A dozen or so policemen were standing around, grumpily letting Sherlock inspect the body. Alice watched from a distance, but not so distant that she couldn't see the body. The poor girl was small and pale, big brown eyes stared blankly into the blue sky. <em>Just 10 years old.<em> She watched Sherlock dance around the body, checking minuscule details that no one else would have noticed. She saw that he was considerably more morose about this murder than the last.

"Hi." Alice turned her head slightly and found a woman she faintly recognised standing in front of her. "Are you alright?"

"As much as you can be around a dead child." Alice said and attempted a smile. The woman nodded understandingly.

"You're Alice, right?" she checked. Alice nodded.

"And you are?"

"Sally Donovan, I work with Lestrade."

"Right."

"I've heard a lot about you." Alice smiled slightly.

"From John?" It was Donovan's turn to smile.

"No. From Sherlock."

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><p>"Was there anything left behind? Another clue perhaps?" Sherlock asked Lestrade. The DI shook his head,<p>

"No, sorry. No clues, no nothing." He said sadly. Sherlock thought for a moment before he turned suddenly and walked away from the DI. He sat down on a worn, old bench near the crime scene. Sherlock rubbed his forehead. Thinking was hard when so much was happening around him too quickly.

"You alright?" He looked up at his friend.

"I'm always all right, John." Watson shook his head and sat down on the bench next to him.

"No, you're _never_ all right." He corrected him. Sherlock sat back and let his head hang backwards so he was looking up at the sky.

"This day has already been a disaster and it's only-" He frowned. "What time is it?" John checked his watch.

"Quarter to one." Sherlock nodded.

"And it's only quarter to one." He finished and sighed.

"I can think of one upside." John said as he watched Sherlock run a hand through his hair.

"And what would that be?" He dared him. Watson smiled and patted his shoulder before standing up.

"Alice couldn't keep he eyes off you, could she?" He said as he walked away. Sherlock blinked once then looked over to where he knew Alice was standing. She was talking to Donovan with her back to him. He caught Donovan's eye, he saw her say something Alice and then look over at him again. Alice turned around and caught his gaze. She smiled at him and gave him a small wave. He returned the gesture and felt his face grow red when he saw Donovan give Alice a teasing nudge.

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><p>"So are we going after the second address now?" Watson asked Sherlock. They were still at the crime scene, awaiting orders.<p>

"Second address?" Alice echoed, hating being out of the loop again.

"That was what was written on the wall behind the string in Ryman's." John explained and Alice made an 'oh' noise in understanding.

"Yes, but unfortunately we have a few tag alongs..." Sherlock muttered and he gestured to Anderson and Donovan.

"Why are they coming?" Alice asked him. Sherlock twisted his mouth.

"They seem to think that I'll put you in danger." Alice grinned.

"I trust you." Sherlock sent her a grateful smile.

"You might be by yourself in the whole 'Trusting Sherlock Holmes' gang." John told her and gave her a wink.

After an awkwardly quiet taxi ride, the 5 of them arrived at the address. Alice stepped out of the taxi and took in her surroundings. The evening was drawing in so it was quite dark. The street lamps were just starting to flicker on down the street and the air was cold. They were in a normal, everyday street with little houses sat side by side. They walked further into the darkness where there were no street lamps where Sherlock finally stopped.

"This was the address that was on the wall?" Alice asked. Sherlock nodded, his eyes darting round. Alice could practically see the cogs turning in his mind. "We're not gonna find another..." She shaped her hands. "Body... Are we?" She looked up at him to see that his eyes were now focused and staring straight ahead.

"No. It's much worse." He whispered. She followed his gaze and gasped.

"What..?" Across the street, the street lamps had finally caught up with the. She saw one opposite them slowly flicker into life. Behind it, the alley way was now well lit. A woman was standing. Her hair was tied in a loose bun, her clothes were dirty and she had bruises and cuts all over her face and arms. They approached slowly and Alice could see she was crying silently. "Oh, my God." She whispered. A bomb was strapped to the poor woman's chest. The woman saw them and held up a small screen in front of her face. In a trembling voice she read,

"Ah. Sherlock Holmes and his motley crew. How have you been? Keeping well I hope." Sherlock's eyes grew dark and Alice saw his fists clench and unclench.

"Moriarty."

"I am sorry about Diana here." The woman sobbed violently. "But you know what they say, old habits die hard." Alice nudged her brother's arm as they walked closer to the woman.

"Who's Moriarty?" The woman stated talking again.

"Oh! She's new!" The woman sniffed. "A new pet of yours is she, Sherlock?" Sherlock stepped closer to Alice slightly.

"She's no one." Nothing happened for a few seconds but then a small, red dot swept along the pavement and then settled on the woman's forehead.

"Oh, God." Alice murmured. The woman had started crying again.

"Tell me who she is." She stated slowly. Sherlock looked to John who nodded.

"Her name's Alice. She's John's sister." Holmes said slowly, as if it pained him to say the words.

"Ah, and she's been living with you has she?" Watson nodded and said,

"Yes." Alice turned her head to look around.

"How is he...?"

"It's not _how_ I do things but _wha_t I do, Alice." The woman stated. Alice swallowed hard.

"And what is she to you, Sherlock?" Sherlock lowered an eyebrow.

"A friend." The woman shuddered slightly.

"I've been watching you Sherlock, I'm always watching you. I've seen the way you look at her." Alice was suddenly furious.

"Stop it!" She shouted. "Just stop it! You sick freak, why are you doing this?" Sherlock put and hand on her shoulder.

"Alice." he warned.

"No! People have died. He killed them and he's not even man enough to show his face!"

"Oh, my God!" Donovan shouted from behind them. Watson, Sherlock and Alice all turned around and gasped. Another red dot from a sniper gun was now pointed at Alice's forehead. Sherlock grabbed her arm and pulled her in front of him, his back to the sniper.

"Moriarty, stop it!" He shouted to the night sky.

"See how the great Sherlock Holmes, the man who befriends no one, the man who is proud to call himself a narcissist and a sociopath, sacrifices himself to save a so called no one!" The woman said. Alice's hands were clutched to Sherlock's collar, her head resting on his chest. Sherlock had an arm wrapped around her, holding her close. He could hear her crying quietly.

"Goodbye, Sherlock." The woman said and both red dots disappeared. Anderson and Donovan ran over to the woman and started to tear away the bomb. Sherlock rested his chin on top of Alice's and whispered into her hair,

"C'mon. Let's get you out of here." He felt her nod and loosen the grip on his collar. She was still breathing erratically, sort and sharp. Her eyes were filled with tears.

A few minutes later they were just down the street. John was talking to a few police officers and Sherlock stood with Alice under the glow of a street lamp.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked her. Alice shrugged.

"I dunno." She looked at the ground as fresh tears fell. "I thought I was going to die." She whispered. Sherlock sighed sympathetically and pulled her into a hug.

"But you didn't. It was close, I admit, but you'll be fine." Alice sniffed in reply. "You still trust me?"

"I'm a little more on the fence than before, but yes. I still trust you." Sherlock smiled.

"Thank you." He thought she'd pull away but no, she still leant against him, one hand on his chest the other wrapped around his back. It felt... Nice. Warm and familiar. Whatever it was it made Sherlock smile.

"You're very welcome." Alice felt the tiredness built up from last night sweep over her and she let it. A few seconds later, she was completely asleep. Watson came back and raised an eyebrow at Sherlock.

"Is she alright?" Sherlock nodded.

"Yes, but she is asleep." He whispered. "Get a taxi, will you?" He did and soon they were driving back to Baker Street, Alice sitting in Sherlock's lap all the way home. He carried her through the front door, not stopping when Mrs. Hudson came hurrying out,

"Oh, my! Is she all right?" Sherlock didn't hear John's answer as he had swept into the flat and into John's bedroom. He put her in bed and brushed a stray lock of hair off of her face.

"I don't know what goes through your head sometimes." John had appeared in the doorway and was addressing him.

"Usually, it's best if people don't."

"I couldn't agree more." Watson nodded. Sherlock was about to follow him out of the room, but he took one last glance at Alice and couldn't fight the urge any more. He stooped beside the bed and gently pressed a kiss onto her forehead. He stood up again quickly and walked from the room.

Sherlock Holmes notices everything. Every _single_ detail. But he still failed to miss the small smile that appeared on Alice's face after he left.


	8. Birthdays And Unexpected Affection

**Chapter 8)**

**I'd like to say thank you to thisisforyou for helping me through some chapters and for reviewing so much! This chapter is for you. :) Mwah! X**

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><p>On 11th July, Alice woke for the first time in a while with a smile on her face. It's childish to get over excited on your birthday but as we've established, Alice<em> is<em> rather childish. She jumped out of bed and got dressed in a flash. She almost collided with John in her hurry to meet him in the living room.

"Good morning!" He cried and wrapped her into a hug. "And a very happy birthday to you!" Alice grinned and released her brother.

"Thank you!" She smiled. She scanned the room for a mass of curly hair visible over the back of the sofa. "Where's Sherlock?" John shrugged.

"He said he went out to get something, you know him. He's not a very informative person." Alice nodded, feeling a little disappointed. "So," John said and she returned her attention to him. "What do you want to do today?" Alice grinned.

"I want to see all of London! I haven't lived here for 10 years; I want to rehabilitate myself as a proper Londoner." John sent her a cheeky smile.

"Well, you do have the qualities of a proper Londoner." Alice frowned and smiled at the same time.

"Meaning..?"

"Meaning you have a complete disregard for everyone but yourself, you seem to think that you control everything and you are completely and utterly insane." He told her whilst she was putting on her jumper. Alice turned back to him and raised her arms above her head.

"London, baby!" she said, quoting Joey from one of her favourite _Friends_ episodes. John shook his head.

"That'd be the insane part I was talking about earlier." Alice glared at him playfully as he walked down the stairs. "No wonder Sherlock likes you so much..." Alice gasped and chased after her brother.

"Take it back!" she shouted. John suddenly bolted out of the front door and ran down the street. Alice took off one shoe and started chasing him, threatening him with her right Converse. "Take it back!" All John did was laugh.

Alice had the best day with her brother. They went through Green Park to Buckingham Palace and then they took the tube to Embankment and walked around the River. They even went down onto the little beach around the Thames. Alice received presents and cards through the post, including a rather short, sharp card from Harriet after much persuasion from John.

They got back and John went into the kitchen to make Alice a cup of tea. Alice sat down on Sherlock's sofa, the great unspoken taboo, and turned on the TV. She turned to E4 and smiled when she saw _Friends_ come up. Her all time favourite programme on her birthday after a day out with her brother.

_Bliss._

"Ugh. Boring." She heard a deep voice mutter from the doorway. She turned her head and smiled.

"What is?" Sherlock entered the room and sat next to her on the sofa.

"This programme, you do fill your head with such utter rubbish." Alice didn't feel like arguing so she switched off the telly. "You alright?" He asked her.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, after yesterday I just thought that you'd feel a little..." He moved his hands in circles. "Under the weather?" He guessed. Alice smiled at the sight of Sherlock Holmes trying to act relatively human.

"I'm fine; it was just a little overwhelming yesterday." Sherlock nodded. John had apparently forgotten her tea and gone to get his duvet from Alice's room so Alice decided to turn in too. "I'm off to bed." She told him.

"You're not going without me wishing you a happy birthday, are you?" Alice turned around to find him standing, smiling slightly.

"I... I thought you'd forgotten." She admitted. Sherlock shook his head and walked closer to her. He pulled a small, rectangular object that was wrapped in newspaper from his pocket.

"Like I said, I never forget the things that matter." He passed her the object and Alice gave him a half smile.

"You didn't have to get me anything." She said, looking down at the present fondly.

"C'mon, humour me." He said quietly and Alice looked back up at him. She studied his face for a moment and Sherlock wasn't sure what she was looking for but she seemed to find it because she smiled properly up at him and turned back to tear the newspaper. It took her a minute but she eventually managed to get through the layers of paper to the present inside. Alice gasped as she finally saw what it was.

"Oh, my God." She turned the red, hard back book over in her hand hands and stroked a finger down the ancient spine. The cover was faded in some places and the wear was obvious but the gold seal on the front, depicting a little girl holding a pig wrapped in blankets, was perfectly intact. It was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

"Sherlock..."

"Your favourite book." He tapped the front cover. "Check the copyright page." She opened the book to the first couple of pages and squinted to read the typed writing.

"Copyright year..." Her eyes widened and she looked back up again. "1865!" Sherlock nodded.

"But this book is like a hundred years old!" Sherlock smiled.

"It's actually 148 years old." Alice gaped at him.

"How did you-"

"I know a person who knows another." He cut her off. Alice shook her head.

"Sherlock I can't accept this." She tried to push the book back to him but he pressed it into her hands.

"Yes you can. It's a present; it's what you do with them." He explained sarcastically. Alice put her head on one side and smiled.

"Thank you." She said quietly. Sherlock nodded in reply and walked past her. "Hey!" She called after him. He turned around and raised his eyebrows questioningly. "You think you can get me the best birthday present ever and walk away without a hug?" Sherlock chuckled as she walked up to him, book in hand, and threw her arms around his neck.

"Apparently not." He murmured into her hair. Alice pulled away and kissed him on the cheek.

"Night." She said quietly. Sherlock stared after her as she walked away. He gingerly traced a finger over the place where she'd kissed him. Then, feeling like a complete idiot, he started sulking and stomped into his room.


	9. Molly And Surprise Dancing

**Chapter 9)**

**This is quite a short one but quite a lot happens... So enjoy! X**

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><p>Sherlock scowled as he stormed up the stairs of his flat. He had <em>not<em> had a good morning. He had gotten up extremely early and in a bad mood, so he'd taken a taxi down to Saint Bart's to view the recently deceased. And quite to his annoyance, Molly Hooper. She'd come in all rainbows and sunshine over his already awful mood ready to fawn all over him.

"Morning!" She had called to him happily. He had only grunted in reply. She managed a smile and joined him at the table. Sherlock was bent over some old gent who'd been brought in yesterday. "How's everything going?"

"Fine. Fine." He answered. Molly took a deep breath.

"I was wondering..." Sherlock looked up. "If you wanted to come and get coffee with me sometime-"

"Molly, stop." He said firmly. Molly shut her mouth and waited for what he was going to say.

"You know me, Molly." He said and he took off his plastic gloves. "I have few friends and even fewer close friends. I... I consider you a close friend, Molly, and I wouldn't want to ruin that. Plus, every psychopath in London would love the idea that I had an emotional attachment to someone. They'd use that against me." Molly smiled sadly.

"I understand." She said quietly and moved away from the table. "Oh, and I'm very proud to call myself a close friend of Sherlock Holmes." Sherlock chuckled.

"You'd be alone on that one." Molly laughed with him. She was about to walk from the room but something stopped her.

"And Sherlock?" she asked. He looked back at her and she saw he was smiling slightly.

"Yeah?"

"The whole thing about psychopaths wanting to use someone against you? Is that why you haven't told Alice yet?" Sherlock's mouth fell open slightly and he shook his head.

"What? No, no, no. I don't- I mean I-" Molly smiled knowingly.

"It's pretty obvious, Sherlock. You know for the smartest guy in the World, you can be really thick sometimes." Then she left before he could say anything else. He'd been in an even worse mood ever since then. And now he was ready let loose all his built up anger on John.

"John!" He cried as he made it to the top of the stairs. Instead of John's reply, all he heard was extremely loud music coming from the kitchen. He frowned curiously and made his way quietly around the living room to peer into the kitchen doorway. There was Alice, dancing around in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, cooking dinner to the radio. She was singing just as loudly as the blaring music which brought a smile to his lips.

"You're always talkin' 'bout your crazy nights, one of these days you're gonna get it right! Don't bring me down!" She sang, waving her wooden spoon in the air and marking each 'no' with a shake of her head. "No, no, no, no, no! Oo-ee-oo! I'll tell you once more, before I get off the floor! Don't bring me down!"Sherlock started laughing. He carefully crept up behind her and grabbed her free hand. He spun her around to face him and smiled.

"Hello." Was all he said and then they started dancing.

"Sherlock, what are you..?" Alice tried to protest but she was being swung around and now they were doing some sort of ad-libbed waltz. One of his hands was wrapped around her waist and the other hand her right hand up. She opted for resting her free hand on his shoulder as the bridge of the song came about,

'_Don't bring me down, grroosss! Don't bring me down, grroosss! Don't bring me down, grroosss! Don't bring me down.'_

They stopped at the last chorus and she rested her forehead on his shoulder, helpless from the fit of giggles that they shared. He declined his head as she looked up so that their noses were almost touching. Alice's breathing became uneven as she felt his curls brush against her forehead. Sherlock's eyes finally locked with hers and he realised what he'd done.

"I... I've got to go." He said and he quickly let go of Alice. She watched him in shock as he walked from the kitchen and out of sight until she heard his door slam. 'What the Hell just happened here..?'


	10. Threats, Violins and Short-Lived Romance

**Chapter 10)**

Alice shivered in the cold morning air. It was July and freezing! Global Warming was a pain in the arse. She and John were standing outside _yet another_ crime scene. She was going to have to have a word with this Moriarty bloke; he had a complete disregard for how early it was. That wasn't her only problem. She hadn't seen Sherlock since what happened yesterday, she was starting to get a little worried. According to John he'd left really early this morning.

"Alice? Are you alright?" John asked, bringing her out of her daydreaming. Alice nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." John gave her a funny look.

"Ally, what's wrong." He stood in front of her, holding onto her shoulders. "You've been all distant since yesterday. What's happened?" Alice shook her head.

"No, nothing's wrong..." She trailed off when she saw Sherlock approaching them over John's shoulder.

"Alice? Can I talk you for a second?" He asked her once he'd joined them.

"Yeah, sure." She tried to smile at him but he didn't smile back. 'Oh, crap.'She thought. She followed him over to a little alcove in the side of a nearby building. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets and he had the same expression on his face as when she first met him. Serious and kinda scary...But he still seemed nervous.

"Alice, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened yesterday." He said. Alice's smile faded.

"What?"

"I... I don't know what came over me, it's just that I saw you there dancing and... I don't know. I just wanted to say I'm really sorry." He finished. Alice stared at him, stunned. He was apologising. Sherlock Holmes doesn't apologise. Of course, she had no idea what she wanted him to say but... Sorry wasn't one of them.

"Right... Okay." She said quietly.

"And I promise you that it will never happen again." He said firmly.

"Fine. Okay." Sherlock smiled and walked back to the police crowd. John was feeling a little edgy, Alice and Sherlock had just disappeared. He saw Donovan walking past and asked her if she knew of their whereabouts.

"They're probably off snogging in a corner!" She shouted back. John winced and tried to suppress the image from his mind. Luckily Sherlock chose then to appear beside him.

"Hey, where did you go? Lestrade was looking for you." Sherlock seemed distracted.

"Doesn't matter. C'mon." He said and then rushed off under the police tape. John waited until Alice joined him, then they set off after the consulting detective. They caught up with him and Alice gasped. Surrounded by police was an everyday, broken off brick wall. In front of it lay a body, but what had made Alice gasp was the writing on the wall. In blood red paint, or what she hoped was paint, were the words.

**'I'm coming for you Alice.'**

"Oh, my God." She whispered. Sherlock pulled her away and said to John,

"C'mon let's get her home."

* * *

><p>Alice and Sherlock were sitting on the various pieces of furniture in the living room when John came in. "Right, I'm going out with Sarah." He told them, not that they seemed to care as they gave no impression that they had heard him. "Do you think you'll be alright?" Sherlock shut the book he was reading with a heavy thud.<p>

"John, I think we can manage for a few hours without your irreplaceable protection." He muttered. John frowned worriedly at Alice.

"But with Moriarty and-" Alice sighed.

"John, we'll be fine!" She told him. "Go out with Sarah!" John smiled.

"Okay, I'll be back later. Sherlock don't burn the house down." He called as he walked out the front door.

"I'm not making any promises!" Holmes called in reply. Alice laughed and went into her bedroom to read. Although they still joked with each other, their usually comfortable silences had become awkward and unsettling. It was_ unbearable._ An hour later, Alice was back on the sofa. Bored. She spied Sherlock's violin leaning against the armchair and picked it up. After a minute or two of searching she found the bow in an umbrella stand. She'd obviously been living with Sherlock Holmes for too long as that seemed perfectly normal. She pulled the bow across the strings and winced at the excruciating noise that came with it. Sherlock actually came hurrying in from the kitchen.

"What on Earth was that!" He shouted. Alice smiled guiltily.

"I, um, I tried to play the violin. I'm not great at it." Sherlock's creased up features relaxed and he sighed.

"Good God, I thought there was something dying in here." Alice sent him a mock hurt look.

"Hey! It was my first time!" Sherlock chuckled.

"And hopefully your last." Alice huffed and threw a cushion at him. After their laughs had died down, everything went back to being awkward. Sherlock cleared his throat and started to walk back to the kitchen.

"Maybe you could teach me?" Alice asked, just before he disappeared from sight. Sherlock stopped and twisted his mouth.

"I don't know, I'm kind of in the middle of something. Bone marrow disintegration and a toaster." He said and jabbed a thumb towards the kitchen. Alice opened her mouth to say something but closed it again quickly.

"Right. I understand." She said quietly. Sherlock felt his heart sink.

"Come here." He said and held onto her arm, pulling her up gently so that she was standing. "Now, show me how you'd hold it." Alice held the instrument at arm's length and blushed self-consciously. Sherlock moved each of her fingers onto a different string, then he stood behind her and used his left hand to bend her left arm. "Now, you rest your chin on this part..." He was saying. Alice did so and blushed when she realised his chest was pressed against her back. "Okay, now pull the bow back along again." Alice moved her arm and winced. Strangled cats noise again. Sherlock nodded and angled her elbow so it was higher. "Okay, try again." Alice tried again, this time with Sherlock guiding her arm. Alice grinned at the sound that ensued, much better. She turned her head to smile at him. Sherlock smiled back but he blinked in surprise when he realised their position. He leant a little closer to her, eyes on her lips. Alice opened her mouth to talk but no sound would come out.

"I think you'll find..." She said barely above a whisper. "That you promised that this would never happen again." Sherlock sent her a half-smile.

"And I think you'll find..." He echoed, finally looking back up to her eyes. "That I had my fingers crossed." Alice sent him a smile of disbelief before he closed his eyes and ever so softly pressed his lips to hers. It was quick and simple but it made Alice's heart flutter. Sherlock pulled away again and Alice opened her eyes. Her breathing hitched slightly as she threw the violin onto the sofa and placed her hands on the back of his head, kissing him again. Sherlock slid his hands down her arms and around her waist, drawing her in closer. Alice grinned mentally as his mouth moved against hers. They kissed gently at first, tenderly, but then his arms tightened around her bringing her even closer against him until she felt dizzy with desire. Sherlock's mind was spinning, he'd never felt like this before. Kissing Alice was like 100 nicotine patches at once. All his senses were dulled, everything hazy... but he did hear something... He opened one eye reluctantly. Someone was in their flat. Someone with a gun_. _He broke away from Alice quickly and pulled her behind him.

"Who are you? What do you want?" He yelled. And suddenly there was a sharp pain in the back of his head. He heard Alice screaming his name and the World went black.


	11. An Old Foe

**Chapter 11)**

"Sherlock! Sherlock!" Ever so quietly, the detective could hear someone calling his name. "Sherlock! Sherlock, please wake up." The voice suddenly became a frustrated whisper. He opened one eye and saw someone leaning over him.

"What... What happened?" The person sighed in relief and grabbed his shoulder.

"Sherlock, Alice is gone." Sherlock suddenly sat bolt upright.

"What? Who? When? Ah, head!" He clutched a hand to his forehead. "Ow!" He muttered. He was sat on the floor, Watson in front of him and Alice... "Alice!" He suddenly shouted. Sherlock jumped to his feet and span around. Watson stood, leaning heavily on his walking stick.

"Sherlock, someone's taken her. She's not here and she knows not to leave by herself with Moriarty... After... Her..." He trailed off. Sherlock turned back to face John.

"I remember now! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" He yelled, hitting himself extremely hard on the head. Not something you want to do if you have possible concussion.

"Sherlock what happened here? Why didn't you stop Moriarty?" Sherlock ran a hand through his hair.

"We were..." He paused, not exactly sure whether he should tell John or not. "We were in the living room." He finished. "A man came in, I defended her and then I got whacked on the back of the head." He shouted then grabbed his coat and rushed out the door. He started walking in any random direction, Moriarty could be anywhere... He jumped when his phone began to ring. He checked the caller ID.

_Crap._

"You." He whispered. There came a cruel, echoing laugh through the speaker.

"Oh, it's so good to hear you voice again, detective!" It called. Sherlock could barely fight down the growl that escaped from his throat.

"Moriarty, what have you done with her?" He said, trying to keep his cool. John finally came out of the flat.

"Sherlock, what are we gonna-" But Sherlock raised a hand to silence him. He put the phone on speaker and they both listened intently.

"Oh, Alice is quite alright. Just a little tied up... She'll be waking up soon. You see, like you she got a little bump on the head." Sherlock pushed down all the angry feelings and took a deep breath.

"What do you want with her? What use could you possibly find in an innocent girl?" He asked. "Why don't you just let her go!" Again, the high wicked laugh could be heard.

"Because it hurts you, Sherlock Holmes. Because every time I hurt her, it hurts you." Sherlock couldn't stand it any more.

"Stop it!" He yelled. People on the street stared at him but he didn't care. "Just stop it! If I find out that you've hurt her, I swear to God, I will not rest until you're strung up by your neck and left there!" Moriarty just chuckled.

"Always a pleasure, Holmes." He said and then he hung up. Sherlock fumed and shoved his phone back in his pocket. John processed the information before pulling out his phone.

"I'm calling Lestrade." He told him. Sherlock rolled his eyes through his panic.

"Oh, 'cause he's so helpful." He muttered. After a minute or two of talking and Sherlock getting even more impatient, John ended the call.

"What did the police say?" He asked Watson hurriedly.

"They're on their way. 15 minutes at the most." Sherlock cursed and span around, his hands in the air.

"That's not quick enough! By then Moriarty could..." He stopped, dreading to think what the sick man could have done to Alice. Watson stared at him.

"Why do you care so much? I've never seen you like this about a case before, or anyone for that matter!" Sherlock stopped spinning and gave Watson a look he'd never seen the detective wear before.

"She... She's special." He managed. "I think I might be-" His phone started ringing before he could finish such a fatal sentence.

"Ah... Sorry to interrupt such a beautiful admittance of feelings but you see, Alice has woken up! I thought you'd like to say a little hello!" Moriarty chattered into the phone. There came a rustling and then,

"Hello? John, is that you?" Watson sighed in relief.

"Yes, Alice. I'm here." He said. They could hear Alice choke back a sob.

"And... Sherlock?" Sherlock tried to control his hectic breathing.

"Yes, I'm here." He said quietly. Alice let out a relieved laugh.

"Oh, thank God you're okay." She said. "I thought for a second there that you were..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

"Tick, tock, tick, tock Sherlock." Moriarty's voice returned through the speakers. "Alice's beautiful face might be a bit different next time you see it unless you pay me a visit." He hung up again. Sherlock looked up at his friend.

"Tick, tock, tick, tock." He repeated with a grim face.


	12. Finding Alice Watson

**Chapter 12)**

Dark, whooshing images rushed past Alice's slowly opening eyes. Her head ached like it had been hit a thousand times over with a sledge hammer and her ears rang with no mercy. She moaned as she gradually lifted her head and surveyed her surroundings. She reached up a hand to the back of her head and held it up in front of her face in the dim light. No blood, yet, thank God. Moriarty had come in and she'd talked to her brother and Sherlock then she'd passed out. It was a really hard knock to the head. A door creaked open in the corner of the room and Moriarty walked in again. Alice stood from her chair on shaky legs.

"You evil piece of-"

"Whoa! Alice no need for such language!" The man cut her off. Alice hated Moriarty with a passion. He'd killed countless people, he'd dragged her to this God forsaken place (wherever it was) and he'd threatened Sherlock. She stormed up to him and slapped him straight across the face. Moriarty stumbled slightly and swore at her. Alice smiled when she saw how red his cheek was. "I should kill you right now!" He crossed the room to her and jammed a gun under her chin. Alice didn't flinch.

"Go on, I'm sure Sherlock will be very happy when he finds out that you've killed his-" She stopped. What was she to Sherlock? I mean, snogging once was hardly girlfriend status. "When you've killed me." She finished. Moriarty didn't seem to notice her slip up.

"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot about my little plan." He gave her an evil chuckle, the kind you only heard coming from Disney villains. Then he left her alone in her dark and dank room. Alice knew it was stupid and silly but she started to cry. She was alone, in the dark and she was so cold. And she was scared as Hell.

* * *

><p>Sherlock and Watson trawled the streets, searching for inspiration to where Alice might be. Sherlock all the while trying to swallow the huge lump in his throat and trying not to worry too much about Alice. If he let his emotions get in the way, his judgement would be clouded meaning that he wouldn't concentrate properly.<p>

"So what we you doing before they broke in? I thought you would have noticed?" Sherlock bit his lip. A nervous habit that occurred in everyone but himself.

"We were... In the living room. I was teaching her how to play the violin." He saw John nod. He knew that he didn't believe him, but this wasn't the time for such an in depth heart to heart and John knew that.

"Sherlock, what are we going to do?" John's voice cracked, he was scared for his little sister. Sherlock stood very still, thinking hard. Harder than he'd ever thought before. He missed her so much, he'd seen her every day since she'd moved in and now she was gone... 'No!' He scolded himself. 'Stop thinking about her! She's just some girl!' But he knew in his heart that she wasn't just some girl. He sighed in frustration. Since when had he become all emotional? "What was the address of the last crime scene?" He asked suddenly, inspiration creeping into his brilliant mind.

"Er, Lodge Road, Paddington." Watson answered hesitantly. "Yeah, that's what Lestrade told me anyway." Sherlock's eyes widened and he let a smile cross his face.

"I think I know where to find Alice." He muttered. He jumped to the edge of the pavement and hailed a taxi. Watson was still terribly confused.

"What? You do? How?" Sherlock shoved him into the taxi and then jumped in himself. He told the driver where to go then he pulled out his phone again. He typed in a familiar number and waited two rings until the Detective Inspector answered.

"Lestrade? Forget about coming here; go to 67 Lodge Road, Paddington, OK?" He didn't really want to wait for a lot of questions on his sudden insight so he was about to hang up but something Lestrade said made him pause,

"Okay, oh, and Sherlock? I'm really sorry about Alice." Sherlock winced slightly.

"I'll inform John of your condolences." He muttered. He heard Lestrade sigh sadly.

"No, I'm sorry for you. I know how you feel about her." Sherlock opened his mouth to deny this but he changed his mind.

"Thank you." Then he hung up. John turned to him and opened his mouth to question him but Sherlock got there faster. "We're going to the last crime scene as that is where Moriarty is hiding. There was a huge, old, burnt down house on the corner. That was the building where the body was and the writing on the wall. We know that Moriarty, in his own sick and twisted way, is a genius. No one in their right mind would think that he would kill so close to his, in a way, home. So that is where she must be." John stared at him.

"That's all that you're going on? A dead body?" He asked in disbelief. Sherlock shrugged.

"It's more than I've usually got going for me."


	13. Hide and Seek

**Chapter 13)**

45 minutes later the taxi stopped and Sherlock rushed out. John, after paying the driver, followed quickly and they stopped just outside a large, seemingly burned down building. Formally 67 Lodge Road. The roof was half collapsed in and the bricks were blackened with soot and smoke. The windows were all smashed in and were now boarded up, graffiti covered almost all the surface area of the once grand building.

"Okay. You wait here for Lestrade and I'm gonna go get Alice." Sherlock told John before suddenly powering up to the open front door. John jumped and grabbed the back of his coat, pulling him back.

"Woah!" He called. Sherlock spun around and glared at him.

"What? What are you doing?" He almost shouted in frustration. John stared at him in disbelief.

"You're just going to rush in? That's not the Sherlock Holmes I know." John answered him, not deterred by Sherlock's angry stare.

"Well, the Sherlock Holmes you know changed the moment he realised that maybe for once in his life he wasn't going to be completely alone." He suddenly yelled. "That perhaps there might be someone who actually cares about him and he cares about them back. You know, just maybe, that person is in great danger at the moment and the Sherlock Holmes you know is going to rescue said person!" John stared wide eyed at his friend who was now breathing hard, trying to catch his breath from his sudden outburst.

"Is that why you've been completely frantic? Because of Alice? That's why you suddenly put all your energy into a case when you'd usually take things as they come?" John spluttered. Sherlock turned his back to him and ran a hand through his hair. His over sized brain was spinning.

"I... I just don't know what to do." Sherlock said quietly. John bit the inside of his cheek.

"When did you start..?" Sherlock was felt slight anger take over him.

"I don't know! I don't know how or when or why I suddenly care for Alice but all that matters is that I do." He suddenly turned on his heel and stormed into the building. John didn't stop him this time, still partly surprised at Sherlock's confession still partly stumped by what had happened to Alice. He turned around when he heard a car pull up. Lestrade got out whilst talking on his phone but when he reached the Doctor he hung up and asked,

"Where's Sherlock?"

* * *

><p>Sherlock's feet crunched over old milk cartons and broken spray paint cans. His sharp eyes scanned the room hoping to spot Alice straight away. Sherlock laughed out loud at the thought. Like it had ever been that easy.<p>

"Holmes!" Sherlock froze. The high, thin voice called out from nowhere.

"Nice place you've got here, Moriarty." He answered coolly. He heard the voice chuckle then,

"Yes, you know with the economy and all, people just have to size down sometimes and settle for a more humble home." Sherlock grunted.

"What worries me is that you refer to yourself as people." He said. He heard a sharp bark of laughter.

"You do it." Sherlock nodded.

"Touché." he muttered. "So, where's Alice?"

"Ah, yes. I heard you little speech outside. Very touching. If I'm not mistaken I'd say that you're in love with this girl." Moriarty's whining voice sneered at him.

"You _are_ much mistaken. Now where is she?" He spat the last sentence.

"She's very safe in my little home. Although... Tick, tock, tick, tock..." Moriarty let out a long laugh that echoed throughout the room. Sherlock fought back the urge to scream in rage at this mad man.

"Just tell me where she is and maybe I won't kill you." Sherlock stated calmly. He could feel Moriarty's sick grin.

"Come and find her, detective, come and find her." Sherlock swallowed hard before running from the hall way and out into what he presumed used to be a living room.

Back outside, more police men and women had turned up and Watson was becoming more and more worried. His sister was in an unstable building with a psychopath serial killer and his sociopath, psychotic best friend was in there also, trying to save her. What could possibly go wrong?

"John?" He turned and saw Donovan was standing next to him.

"We've got to help him." He wasn't asking. "Alice is basically the only family I have left; you have to help Sherlock save her." Donovan nodded.

"We're trying, Moriarty might've planted bombs all around the perimeter and..." She trailed off and John stared at his feet. "If we try to send people in now the whole building might cave in." She admitted. John nodded and bit his lip.

"You've got to hurry though." He said finally. He turned back to the building. "Who knows what Sherlock will do."


	14. Escapology 101

**Chapter 14)**

Alice let out a long sigh of boredom. Sure, being kidnapped and kept in some disgusting old house by a deranged lunatic was a quite a thrilling and rather terrifying ordeal. But now she was lying on a dirty old mattress in another darkened room guarded by a complete and utter idiot. It wasn't exactly entertainment at every corner. She sighed again and sat up. Her hands were handcuffed together and the metal was starting to rub her wrists raw. She glanced over at the guy guarding her. He was sitting on a wooden chair with his back to her, holding a large gun in his hands. She had to get out of here; otherwise Sherlock and John were going to run straight into Moriarty's trap. If they _were_ coming for her, that is. Alice started to try and think of a way out of her mess, but the only plan she could think of was really risky and hardly worth it and... It might just work. She looked down at herself. She knew she was attractive, not exactly super sexy but enough to lead on a certain thug. She sorted her hair out with the back of one hand then practised pouting before letting out a sweet, girly giggle. As planned the guy turned around.

"What?" He asked in a deep, gruff voice. Alice batted her eyelashes at him.

"Oh, it's nothing." She answered; giving him what she hoped was a sexy smirk. The guy frowned, looking slightly dazzled, and turned back. Alice giggled again, hating herself slightly for having to sink this low. The man stood and walked over to her mattress.

"What?" He asked, slightly angrier now. Alice looked up at him from under her eyelashes.

"Oh, I really shouldn't say..." She said silkily. The guard seemed very interested. Bless him.

"Tell me." He said firmly.

"Oh, it's just that handcuffs in a dark room with a mattress and man... It brings back rather interesting memories." She said and blushed. The man let out a strange noise which she hoped meant he was falling for it. "Maybe you could, you know, help me remember a thing or two." She whispered. The man nodded slowly.

"Uh-huh." He agreed. Alice mocked an upset look.

"Oh, but these handcuffs. You'd have to unlock them first." The man nodded hurriedly and without even a second thought, he'd unlocked the cuffs and she was standing.

"I heard that you were with Sherlock Holmes." He told her. Alice chewed on her lip.

"Well, Sherlock is a very intellectual man but he lacks muscle. All brain and no brawn you see." As she spoke she ran a single finger down the man's chest.

"I bet I could teach you things he never could." The man said roughly. Alice nodded then her eyes narrowed. She swung up one fist and punched the poor man full on the nose, then she kneed him in the stomach, finally kicking him in the back of the head as he fell to his knees. He hit the ground with a loud thud.

"_That_ is something Sherlock Holmes taught me." She said with a smile. She hurried out of the door and looked around. Crap. She had no idea where she was going.

Sherlock ran through every room on the ground floor, checking everywhere before finally making his way upstairs. The house was huge, countless rooms and secret little alcoves everywhere. He was frantic. Had Moriarty hurt her? Where was she? How much time did he have? How much time until what exactly? He was about to head back downstairs but stopped when he thought he heard a shout. He span around and...

"Alice!" He cried. Alice whipped her head around and saw him.

"Sherlock!" She called, a huge smile of relief crossing her face. Sherlock started running towards her. Alice started forward too but something stopped her. By the doorway next to the skirting board was a small flashing light. Coming from it was a small, barely visible wire. A trip wire. Alice gasped and held up her hand to stop him but by then, Sherlock had run into the room and set off the alarm.

"Wait..." He stopped, looking round to see what had hit his ankles. "What was..?" Then he saw what Alice had seen. He turned back to her slowly. "Ah." He said slowly. Alice started breathing heavily.

"What is it? What is that?" She asked as she walked to stand next to him.

"That would be a very small but very powerful bomb. There are..." He glanced around the room to cover all exits. "5 of them. One in every doorway and window. Making escape impossible without getting blown to pieces." He said quickly. Alice couldn't help but gulp.

"Meaning..?" She asked timidly.

"Meaning that the only way we're getting out of here alive is if your brother and Lestrade get their act together and come rescue us in, oh..." He looked at his watch. "4 minutes 43 seconds." He finished. Alice stared at him.

"So basically-"

"There's very little chance of us surviving this." Sherlock finished for her. Alice swallowed hard.

"Right." She said simply. Sherlock ran a hand across his face and then through his hair. "I would have thought you'd seen the wire though, I thought you noticed everything." Alice said, trying to keep the mood as light as possible. Sherlock let out a weak chuckle.

"Hmm, I suppose you just have this effect on me." He turned so that he was facing her properly. "I'm sorry Alice, I should have been more careful." Alice almost laughed.

"You have got to stop apologising, you sound almost human."

"But I mean it though; I should have looked after you properly. I-" But Alice held up a hand to silence him.

"Sherlock, I'm not a kid. You can't look after me 24/7." She told him firmly. Sherlock nodded in reply and Alice took a shaky breath. "So, there's really hardly any chance that we'll survive?" She asked.

"I'd say about a 50/50 chance, give or take." He answered with a sort of smile. Alice nodded. "You know," Sherlock told her. "I've never felt this way about anyone in my entire life." Alice blushed and shook her head.

"No, don't say that."

"But it's true, when you first met me I was willing to let you go out by yourself at night with nowhere to go simply because... I don't know." He admitted. "And now, I guess you've changed me. Not by much, I admit, but enough to know that-" Alice loved that he was being all normal and sweet but that wasn't what she wanted. The Sherlock Holmes she'd fallen for was mad and annoying and oh so very strange. So she grabbed his hand, distracting him from his little speech.

"Sherlock?" She interrupted him.

"Yes?" He asked, slightly miffed that she'd stopped him mid-confession.

"Shut up." She said and Sherlock nodded.

"Right, okay." Then she stood on her toes and kissed him. Sherlock immediately stopped caring about her interruption and focused on running his hands through her dark hair. Alice felt a shudder wrack through her body as he slid his tongue across her bottom lip. If she was going to die, she was going to die kissing Sherlock Holmes.


	15. John Watson- Super Hero

**Chapter 15)**

John ran another hand through is greying hair. They were taking too long! Who knows what Moriarty had done to Alice. He glanced again at the open door and the blue and white police tape. Maybe he could... No, no, no. He couldn't. He'd let the Police do their job. But, as Sherlock had said many times, the Police were always out of their depth. He patted his jacket pocket. Yep, he felt the familiar, cold, metal clang against the palm of his hand. His gun was still there. He glanced around, making sure that no one was watching him, before ducking under the tape and running through the front door.

He crept through the house, trying not to breathe through his nose. The stench was unbearable. The rooms were dark and mouldy; no one had been here in years. He paused in mid-step when he thought he heard a quiet beeping noise. He stepped forward, following the sound. It led him to a closed, once white but know a mouldy yellow, wooden door. He pressed his ear against it and listened intently. From behind the door, he thought he heard a familiar voice and the whir of machinery. Quickly, he pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"Ah, if it isn't Sherlock Holmes' loyal dog!" Jim Moriarty called to him from behind a speaker system and 3 computer screens that beeped loudly. "So glad you made it." He said a little quieter. John's eyes swept the room and Moriarty grinned. "It's always the way isn't it?" He told him. "You take a gun everywhere and then the one time you need it, you forget it in your car!" He spoke like it was an everyday conversation about the weather.

"Hm, isn't it always the way?" John agreed. Moriarty put his head on one side, his dark eyes glinting in the dim light.

"I suppose you want to know where your sister is." Jim asked; his clear Irish accent hung in the air of the dark room.

"Yes, that would be very helpful." John replied edging carefully around the room. Moriarty let out a small laugh.

"She actually managed to escape. A very bright girl you've got there, John. She actually managed to seduce my best man and then punched his lights out!" He let out a shrill giggle.

"Yeah, that sounds like Alice." John eyed the array of electronic equipment in front of him.

"Ah, do you like my little entourage?" Moriarty asked cheerfully.

"Oh, yes, very nice. What's all this for?" He gestured with one hand. Moriarty grinned.

"These are my eyes and ears throughout this whole building." Moriarty explained. "This way I can see everything. From all of the police outside to where Sherlock and Alice are, er, let's say, happy to see each other."

"Ah, so Sherlock found her, did he?" John asked. Moriarty nodded.

"They make a sweet pair, don't you think? The freak and the little lost girl. It's a shame they've only got a few more minutes in each other's company." John frowned.

"What do you mean?" Moriarty chuckled darkly, his eyes glinting with malice.

"There's a bomb, John." John froze. "A bomb that's set to go off in, ooo, about 3 minutes." Moriarty told him. John felt his stomach clench. He pulled out his gun finally and pointed it straight at Moriarty's head.

"Turn it off." He said quietly. Moriarty's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he regained his composure and grinned.

"Make me." It was John's turn to smile.

"I was hoping you'd say that." He muttered. Before he could fire though, the door he'd entered through opened and John span around. An enormous thug stood before him, towering over John and wearing a sick expression.

"Oh, bugger." John muttered. The man smiled an icy smile before bringing down his hand. John jumped out of the way just in time. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Moriarty run through a back door.

"Nice seeing you again, Doctor Watson!" He heard the murderer call before the door slammed shut behind him. The man stepped forward and tried to punch John but the Doctor ducked and ran behind the set of computers. He pointed his gun at the impossibly tall man before saying,

"Sorry, mate. It was nice meeting you." The man's eyes widened before John pulled the trigger and then he fell dead. John sighed in relief. "Thank God." He muttered. He turned his attention to the computer screens and rolled his eyes when he saw Alice and Sherlock. "You _could_ be thinking of a way out but no!" He grumbled. "You had to go and do _that _with my little sister." He ran a hand through his hair. "Defuse the bomb, defuse the bomb. How on _Earth_ do you defuse a bomb?" A switch board was laid out in front of him. On it were hundreds of little lights and switches, some red and some green. "Right, okay. Let's try..." He flicked a few switches. "Those ones." A loud whirring could be heard from somewhere but on the screens a countdown could still be shown. "Okay, okay. Don't panic." He told himself out loud. "And now... These ones." He flicked more switched and they turned from green to red. All the lights in the house simultaneously brightened and then went out altogether. From outside the police were watching in confusion. Alice and Sherlock didn't even notice. John flailed his hands in the air. "Okay, that one!" He cried and flipped a single switch. He watched the screens with crossed fingers. The countdown stayed the same at 1 minute and 23 seconds before stopping. John leaped into the air, yelling triumphantly. "John Watson, one. Moriarty, zero." He said happily. Then he hurried from the room.

He climbed the stairs in twos before searching every room on the landing. At the last door he opened it slowly and peered inside. Alice was pressed against the wall with her legs wrapped around Sherlock's waist, kissing hungrily. They didn't even notice John come in; they were probably too interested in each other's tonsils to care. John leaned against the door frame and cleared his throat. Alice broke away from Sherlock and turned her head to look at John. Once she realised his presence, she slid of Sherlock and sent Watson a huge grin.

"Hey, big brother." She said, trying to smooth down her T-shirt and flatten her hair. "So... You turned off the bomb, did you?" Sherlock winced slightly at her trying to act all innocent. John shook his head in disbelief. The awkward silence that followed was more terrifying than being locked in a room with a crazed maniac trying to kill them and a bomb ready to go off in a matter of minutes. John sighed before saying,

"It's about time you two got together. I've been making bets with Mrs. Hudson all week." Alice felt a grin slowly spread across her face. She ran at her brother and enveloped in a huge hug.

"You saved us, John! I'm so happy to see you!" John laughed and spun her around in his arms.

"I'm happy to see you too. You scared me there for a minute, you know." Sherlock stepped forward and smiled at him.

"Where's Moriarty?" He asked. John shrugged sadly.

"He got away. Sorry." He apologised. He knew how much Sherlock hated that man. But Sherlock shook his head.

"Don't be." John nodded.

"Right, c'mon. Let's go home." Alice laughed at John's somewhat normal tone, contradicting the ordeal they had all just been through.

"Yeah, I'm starving." She told them and the two men laughed.


	16. Spiders Aren't The Only Unwanted Visitor

**Chapter 16)**

Sherlock, Alice and John were bombarded by questions and Ambulance medics the second they stepped out of the door. Alice's favourite was Lestrade's,

"What the Hell took you so long?" Sherlock smiled.

"It's always nice to see you, Lestrade." He said. Lestrade ran a hand through his hair.

"And you!" He pointed a finger at John. "What the Hell do you think you're doing, running off like that? I thought he was the reckless one." He jabbed a finger at Sherlock. "Unfortunately his methods seemed to have rubbed off on you!" John held up his hands in defeat.

"It doesn't matter now-"

"You could've been killed!" Lestrade argued

"But I wasn't." John said firmly. Lestrade started to argue but Sherlock cut him off.

"Excuse me, Lestrade, but Alice has just been though a very troubling ordeal and I think it would be best if we got her home." He said and Alice blushed at the sudden attention. Lestrade nodded reluctantly.

"Right. Yes, of course. Go." He said stepping aside. The rest was a bit of a blur to Alice. She remembered being rushed into a cab and then falling asleep on Sherlock's shoulder. So, not that bad.

Alice woke with a start and a pounding headache. She groaned and rubbed her head. She hadn't had a shower in days and her hair was all greasy. Staggering into the living room, she sat down on the window seat and gazed up at the sky... And then she screamed. Sherlock suddenly came running in carrying a cricket bat.

"What? What is it?" he cried. Alice jumped out of the seat and ran over to him.

"Holy fucking shit! A spider the size of my fist just crawled on my leg!" She screamed, flapping her hands. Sherlock's arms went limp and he lowered the bat he was carrying to his side.

"What?" He said darkly. Alice wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his shoulder. Sherlock rolled his eyes and after a minute of searching he found the offending creature and dropped it out the window.

"There, it's gone." He muttered. Alice finally noticed what he was holding.

"Is that a cricket bat?" she asked. Sherlock spread his hands.

"I thought you were being attacked!" He argued.

"What, so you thought that a cricket bat would help?" Alice frowned. "Where've you been keeping a cricket bat? I didn't even know you had one."

"Well, I'm sorry! I heard you scream so I grabbed the first thing I saw that might do some damage! You're the one screaming over a little spider!"

"It wasn't little! It was bloody huge! At least the size of a tennis ball!"

"What are you talking about! It was tiny!" Alice had calmed down now so she sat down on the sofa; taking Sherlock's hand and making him sit down next to her.

"I'm sorry, I just don't like spiders." Sherlock frowned.

"And that's why you screamed?" Alice couldn't help but feel a little offended.

"Everyone is scared of something." She muttered. "Oh, you're probably not though, Mr. Heartless Detective." She realised. Sherlock shook his head.

"No, I'm not really." He admitted, ignoring her comment. He gently took her hand and started to stroke it with his thumb. "Although, when I realised what had happened to you, just for a second... I was scared." Alice rested her head on his chest and sighed happily. "And when I thought that I might never see you again. When I thought that I wouldn't see your beautiful face every day." He reached up and traced his fingers across her cheek making Alice smile. "When I realised that I would never get to tell you that I'm in love with you." Alice's head swung up off his chest and she stared at him.

"What did you say?" She asked quietly. Sherlock looked confused.

"I love you." He said slowly. Alice nodded her head. "What have I not told you that already?" Alice shook her head. "Ah, right." Sherlock said, feeling, for once in his life, like an idiot.

"You've never told me that." Alice said, still baffled. Sherlock Holmes, sociopath extraordinaire, was telling her that he loved her.

"Well, I thought you knew." Sherlock grinned at her. Alice put her hand over her mouth, completely shocked, before she jumped forward and kissed him with everything she had. Sherlock made a mental note to tell her this more often. She ran her hands through his hair, pressing him against the arm of the sofa. She broke away and said,

"You know that I love you too, right?" Sherlock smiled.

"I do now." He said and Alice grinned. He leant forward and kissed her again, grabbing her waist in his hands... Just as John came through the door. He immediately covered his eyes with his hands.

"Oh, my God!" He cried. Alice and Sherlock started laughing as John rushed from the living room to the kitchen. Alice carefully climbed off Sherlock, kissing his cheek as she stood up.

"Oh, thank you." Sherlock teased. Alice raised her eyebrows and curtseyed,

"Well, there's more where that came from when I get back." Sherlock smirked and Alice went to greet her brother.

"You know you've really got to put a sign up or something." John told Alice as she helped him unload the shopping he'd gone to get. "If I walk in on you one more time, I swear I-"

"Sherlock told me that he loved me." Alice said happily. John rolled his eyes.

"Oh, God." He muttered. Alice playfully punched him on the arm.

"And I love him back, so hah!" She said.

"Well, I'm very happy for you." John said as he put the kettle on. The doorbell suddenly rang out so Alice went to answer it. She met Mrs. Hudson at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh, hello, dear." The old landlady said. Alice smiled at her.

"Good morning, Mrs. Hudson." She replied brightly.

"I think you'll find it's the afternoon, dear." Mrs. Hudson corrected her with a warm smile. "I do hope you've recovered after yesterday, sweetheart." The old woman said, patting her hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alice said as she went to open the door. A tall man stood there, a cane in his right hand. He had a slightly receding hair line, a hooked nose and beady eyes. He was dressed in a sharp suit which looked extremely expensive. When he spoke, Alice couldn't help but feel rather low in rank, like she was a mere peasant and he was a king.

"Hello." He said in a clipped, posh accent. "You must be Alice. Ever so pleased to meet you, my name is Mycroft Holmes."


	17. Shopping and 'More Where That Came From'

**Chapter 17)**

"Did you say Holmes?" Alice asked. Mycroft narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Yes I did. I'm Sherlock's brother." He informed her. Alice was a bit taken aback.

"Sherlock never told me he had a bother." Mycroft nodded.

"Yes." He said slowly. "Sherlock never fails to forget about his family." He said it warm heartedly but Alice could see something else in his eyes that told her what he said wasn't far from the truth. "You _are_ Alice, aren't you?" He checked. Alice frowned.

"Yes, how did you know my name?"

"Because, Alice, he finds joy in snooping about my life and making himself feel important." A cold voice said from the top of the stairs. Alice turned her head to see Sherlock walking down the stairs.

"Sherlock." Mycroft greeted him. "I was just meeting your new girlfriend." Sherlock nodded.

"Yes, you haven't been annoying her have you?" Alice stayed silent as the two glared daggers each other. "Why are you here, Mycroft?" Sherlock asked with a cold stare. 'God, even when he's being scary and malicious he's sexy.' Alice thought as she studied his face.

"Mummy's ever so worried." Mycroft said as he turned his head on one side. Alice snorted and looked at the ground at the 40 year old man calling his mother 'mummy'. She saw Mycroft send her a disapproving glare and Sherlock looking very amused. "You make a good choice in companions, Sherlock." Mycroft said coldly and Alice blushed furiously. John suddenly appeared from the top of the stairs asking for Alice so she left Sherlock and his brother and went to see what the matter was.

"See, the thing is," John said. He was leaning against the kitchen counter and Alice was sitting on the kitchen unit across from him. "Tonight is a very special night for me and Sarah." John stumbled. It was embarrassing talking about his and his girlfriend's business with his little sister.

"What, is it an anniversary of something?" Alice asked. John shook his head.

"No it's, um, it's the, er, first time we'd have... You know..." He stared at his feet. Alice's eyes widened.

"Oh! I mean oh..." She said feeling suddenly extremely awkward. "And what exactly do you need me for?"

"I need to look good if tonight is going to go well." John said. Alice saw him blush and grinned. She hadn't seen him go red since she had discovered him snogging Jennifer Lowe behind the garden shed when she was 12. She told him this and he only blushed harder.

"You want me to take you shopping?" She asked and John nodded. "Okay, I'm gonna have a shower and then we'll go." She said happily. She was such a stereotypical girl when it came to shopping.

* * *

><p>That evening, John staggered into the flat laden down with at least a hundred shopping bags.<p>

"Do I really need all this stuff?" he asked. Alice shook her head.

"Nope, this one is yours." She pointed to the one Top Man bag. "And the rest are mine." She said happily. She left him at the foot of the stairs and carried on by herself. Once entering the flat, she noticed that Mycroft was still there. On acknowledging her presence, the older man stood from his chair and walked to the door with Sherlock's gaze burning holes in his back.

"Think about my offer, Sherlock." Mycroft's voice rumbled in his chest. Sherlock snorted and turned his gaze to straight ahead of him, ignoring everyone for a second. John finally managed to catch up and walked to his bedroom to get changed. A minute later he was dressed and ready to go. Alice kissed him on the cheek with one eye on the bothers and steered him out of the door. Mycroft nodded to Sherlock and turned to walk out of the flat... But not before he'd sent a cold, hard glare at Alice. She huffed in disbelief and slammed the door behind him.

"Sherlock, no offence to you..." She said as she heard Mycroft walk down the stairs.

"Which usually means the complete opposite." Sherlock muttered then, "Go on." A little louder.

"Your brother is a complete git." Alice stated as the front door shut with a bang. Sherlock burst out laughing, a laugh that Alice had never actually heard coming from him before. He stood from his armchair and joined her by the door.

"Yes, I am definitely in love with you." Sherlock said nodding and Alice grinned. Sherlock smirked. "Which reminds me... Your brother's staying over at Sarah's tonight, so maybe we could continue what we started earlier." Sherlock purred, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Alice bit her lip.

"But, what if, no offence to John or anything, his night doesn't exactly work out and he comes home early." She argued, slightly paranoid over such an event. Sherlock chuckled.

"You say that like you have a choice." Sherlock said, winking at her as he bent his head. He took her shoulders in his hands and started to press kisses down one side of her neck. Alice felt her mind haze over and her resistance fail. Sherlock pulled back and smirked irritatingly as he noted the effect he had on her. Alice rolled her eyes slightly and he let out a deep chuckle.

"So, what were you thinking of?" She asked, smiling up at Sherlock. He raised an eyebrow,

"Honestly?" He replied. She nodded and his eyes turned dark. "All I can think about right now is pushing you up against this wall and kissing you senseless until you see stars and you beg for more." He told her, his voice low and enticing, his eyes never leaving hers. Alice's smile disappeared and her breathing shook. All coherent thoughts left her head and she had to struggle not to let her legs buckle. _Damn._

"Well, that sounds... _Wow_..." She managed, giving a shaky laugh. "But..." Sherlock frowned as she hesitated. She flashed him a grin. "You'll have to catch me first!" She cried and pushed past him, speeding across the room. Sherlock immediately launched himself after her. Alice squealed as she rounded the sofa, Sherlock's fingers just brushing her shirt. He cursed and tore after her as she sped into her bedroom. He managed to tackle her and luckily they fell onto the bed. Alice wriggled out from underneath him and sat up on her pillows. Sherlock slowly, stealthily moved up the bed on his hands and knees, a panther on the prowl. Alice swallowed thickly as she felt herself melt under his ridiculously powerful and intense gaze. His body moved over hers, not touching, but close enough to have a serious effect on Alice's breathing. He leaned forward, his curls brushing her forehead.

"Gotcha." He whispered in her ear, his hot breath on her neck making her shiver. Sherlock leaned back and his hand slowly slid up her side. Alice lent her head back on the pillows behind her and hummed softly. Sherlock's voice shook her out of her reverie. "Before you left earlier, I kissed you and you told me that there would be more where that came from when you got back." He said, smiling at her in the sweetest way. "What I was wondering was... What exactly does 'more where that came from' involve?" Alice grinned.


	18. Perfect? Eh, Alright

Sherlock woke up that morning with a massive grin on his face. Sure, John was going to kill him if he ever found about what he and Alice had gotten up to, but that didn't matter right now. There were far more important things to be getting on with. He turned his head to the side and felt his chest stir when he saw Alice sleeping peacefully beside him. Oh, he could get used to this. He pulled his arm out from under the warm covers and reached out to her, gently stroking the side of her face. He smiled again when she groaned and cracked one eye open.

"Morning, Wonderland." He murmured, his voice raspy from sleep. Alice's annoyance at having been woken up quickly cleared and she smiled back at him brightly.

"Morning." She replied in a whisper. Sherlock sat up and gave a long yawn, rubbing his tired eyes with one hand. It wasn't often he got more than four hours sleep, sometimes even less than that.

"S'John back yet, do you think?" He asked blearily and Alice shrugged.

"Dunno. _You'll_ have to go check." She said with an evil glint in her eye. Sherlock looked down at her, his eyebrows drawn together imploringly.

"Ally, please don't make me-"

"Go." She said firmly. Sherlock opened his mouth, preparing to argue, but by the stubborn look on Alice's face, he knew he couldn't win. With a sigh and a groan, he pulled back the covers and slid out of bed. Throwing on yesterday's clothes, he wandered out into the hall and immediately spotted John sitting in his chair. Sherlock took a deep breath before walking calmly past his friend and flopping down gracelessly onto the sofa.

"Morning, Sherlock." John said with his eyes still on the telly. Sherlock grunted in reply, but took the time to studied his friend's dishevelled appearance as he calmly sipped his tea.

"So, I see you've moved from the lilo to Sarah's bed." He said levelly. John choked in surprise at his friend's insinuation and spat out the tea he had been drinking all over the living room carpet. With wide eyes, he turned to Sherlock. The man himself however looked from John to the carpet and back up again with a completely straight face. "John that is _truly_ disgusting." He said and reached upwards to grab a book from the arm of the sofa.

"How did you..? You know what, never mind." John muttered as he heaved himself out of his chair and walked to the kitchen to get something to clean up his spill. "So what did you and Alice get up to last night?" He called conversationally from the next room. Sherlock's hand froze in the middle of turning the page of his book. What could he possibly say to that?

"Oh, not much." He said innocently, clearing his throat. John moved back into the living room and took a sip of his tea, studying the detective over the rim of his mug.

"What do you-"

"Morning, boys!" Alice's voice suddenly interrupted John's suspicious question. John looked over his shoulder to greet his sister with a bright smile.

"Morning, Alice. I was just..." He trailed off distractedly at what he saw. Sherlock looked up and realised why John had stopped talking. It appeared that Alice, even though she had been in her room, had decided to dress in an old shirt of Sherlock's and a pair of his boxer shorts. Alice smiled at her brother innocently and walked into the bathroom with a cheery wave. John slowly turned his head back to face Sherlock, whose face was now hidden behind his book. John opened his mouth, ready to hurl hundreds of furious and confused questions at the detective. But something stopped him and he took a deep calming breath. "I'm not gonna say anything. I'm not gonna say anything." John muttered to himself as he stood from his chair and went back into the kitchen to make himself more tea. Sherlock slowly lowered the book and glanced at John. He looked back down at his lap thoughtfully and realised that John was at least okay-ish with him and Alice. He smiled and shook his head. Things were never going to be the same again, that was for sure.

* * *

><p>"New case for you, Sherlock." Lestrade informed the detective with a disdainful look. Sherlock took the folder from him and studied all of the information in a matter of moments. The detective, the D.I and Alice were at Scotland Yard after the Lestrade had called them there just after lunch.<p>

"Is it worth my time?" Sherlock drawled coldly. Just because he was nicer than usual around Alice didn't mean he had to be tolerable of everyone else. He had a reputation to uphold.

"I should think so." Lestrade said with a grin, ignoring the detective's haughty tone. "It's another loony serial killer. They've been helpful as well. Killed a woman and then left you some clues."

"Really?" Asked Sherlock with much more enthusiasm now, his eyes brightening. Alice smiled slightly, finding it amusing how happy Sherlock got at an interesting murder.

"Yeah. If this woman's death was suspicious, why would the killer leave you something to help catch them?" Lestrade asked curiously. Sherlock shrugged, a smile growing on his face.

"Good Samaritan?" Sherlock suggested as he began to walk towards the door of the D.I's office.

"Who _murders_ people?" Lestrade pressed and Sherlock smirked.

"Bad Samaritan." Holmes corrected himself. He glanced at Alice and she hopped up from her seat, eager to get going. Sherlock took the lead, striding towards the door but before he could walk out, he heard Lestrade speak to Alice.

"He's infuriating. I don't know how you put up with him." Gregg said wearily. He heard laugh a little as she shrugged at the Inspector.

"Hmm, I have absolutely no idea." She agreed. Sherlock smiled, his back still turned to the pair.

"It's because I'm such a good kisser." Sherlock called over his shoulder. Lestrade tutted and shook his head before he noticed that Alice was taking his suggestion seriously.

"Yeah, that'd be it." She nodded. Lestrade rolled his eyes, making Alice chuckle as she turned, joining Sherlock at the door and looping her arm through his. Sherlock looked down at his beautiful girlfriend and smiled. For once in his life, things were looking relatively normal. He had a job of sorts, he had a flat mate and he had Alice. Sure, he was the only consulting detective in the world whose main agenda was to think like, act like and finally bring in as many evil genii as possible, but nobody's perfect.

Perfect is a stupid word, if you ask me. Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities or characteristics (as the dictionary defines it) is completely impossible. And to make someone or something completely free from faults or defects or making it as close to such a condition as possible (as another dictionary defines it) is also impossible. But things were, in some aspects and if you can bear to use the word, perfect.

Things were as normal as they could get. And they were all coming together quite nicely.


	19. Two Years Later

_Two years later:_

"Hi." She said dumbly. She closed her eyes and sighed, switching her position so that she was kneeling before the headstone. She opened her eyes again and studied the gold lettering engraved into the black stone. "I miss you." She whispered. She smiled and looked down at her hands knotted in her lap. "I know you're not dead." She told the headstone. "I know you're not gone." She even let out a silent chuckle. "You always have to have the last word; death is certainly not something that could defy you." She looked back up at the headstone and saw her reflection looking back at her, her face clear on the gleaming stone. She looked sad. Her eyes were dull and tired, her shoulders slumped. It was then that she realised just how alone she felt. "So why won't you come back?" She asked, hating the way her voice cracked. Her throat was tight and her eyes burned. She suddenly felt furious at him, at her situation, at the whole damn world.

"John needs you. Mrs. Hudson needs you. Even Mycroft needs you." She stated loudly, trying to reign in her anger. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes again. "The World _needs_ Sherlock Holmes." She finished quietly. "And more importantly, I need you." She sighed deeply and placed what she'd bought upon the freshly dug dirt. One of his violin strings wrapped around one of her guitar strings, the grey and silver metals melded at one end to form a bracelet. "But I trust you." She said as she arranged the gift on the soil. "I always have and I always will." She looked up and placed a hand on the top of the headstone. "So, please, just come back." She begged, forcing her voice not to wobble. Her hand slid down and rested over his name. "Be safe and come back to me." Silence fell over the graveyard and Alice closed her eyes one last time. She felt angry and sad and alone and desperate and all kinds of other disgusting, terrible emotions that surged through her veins and blackened her heart. 'He did it for a reason,' she reminded herself. 'He did it to save us all'.

"Alice Watson?" A voice from behind her made her start and she turned her head sharply to look behind her. A woman stood there, an enormous coat wrapped around her thin frame and dirt was smudged across her face. She smiled apologetically at her, not meaning to frighten her. Alice didn't smile back. She stood quickly and took a step backwards, wary of the strange woman who knew her name.

"Yes, who are you?" She said, attempting to come across as strong but unfortunately her voice cracked. The woman put a hand in her pocket and smiled.

"I have something for you." She told her. Alice watched as she pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket and held it out to her in the palm of one grubby hand. Alice eyed the paper suspiciously.

"Who's it from?" She asked, her eyes narrowed at the woman. She didn't reply but gave her a small smile. Alice bit her lip and looked around the graveyard. No one was around. What if something happened to her? She gave the woman the once over. Alice was taller and stronger and then the woman and she decided that, if it did come to an attack, she could easily overpower her. She took a tentative step forward and took the paper away from the woman. She unfolded it carefully and saw a few words written in a familiar handwriting.

_'I will be back. Keep believing, Alice.'_ Alice felt her stomach drop and her heart rise to her throat. She knew the handwriting. She looked back up at the woman.

"Who gave this to you?" She whispered. When the woman didn't reply, Alice took a vehement step forward, startling the stranger. "Who gave this to you!?" She cried, angry tears streaming down her cheeks. Suddenly, something over the woman's shoulder caught her eye. A dark figure walking out of the graveyard's tall, gothic gates. Dark, curly hair bounced as he walked and the big coat he wore had its collar turned up. Alice dropped the note and started to run across the green park. She dodged people and headstones, eyes fixed on the figure turning out of the gate. "Sherlock!" She yelled, hoping he would turn around, hoping he would come back. She made it to the gates and stopped, looking for the man who she been her whole world. He had disappeared. She brushed away her tears and span around in circles, ignoring the amused looks of passersby. She stopped spinning and closed her eyes. "Sherlock!" She shouted on more time, hoping with every fibre of her being that she hadn't imagined him.

"Alice?" She whipped around and found her brother there, staring at her with his eyebrows drawn into a frown. "Are you alright?" He asked. Alice looked away at the bustling city and sighed. She turned back to John and smiled.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

The woman in the graveyard, who had once been called Joanna Feldman but who now was a nameless woman on the street, watched the taller woman run across the park. She felt bad, but her employer had asked her not to say anything. She walked, hands deep in her pockets, out of the graveyard and slipped unnoticed by the public who tried so hard to ignore her kind, back into an alleyway. She picked up her rucksack and pulled it onto her shoulders.

"Thank you." Said a deep voice. Joanna smiled before she turned around and saw the shadowy figure at the mouth of the alleyway. She stepped forward and he handed her a crisp £50 note. She grinned and slipped the note immediately into her pocket.

"No problem." She replied. The man nodded and turned with a flap of his coat and walked out of the dark alleyway. Joanna thought for a moment before she called after him, "She must have been important if you'd risk being seen." The man stopped, his head bowed.

"Yes, yes she is." He replied quietly before his disappeared once more.

* * *

><p><span><em>Six months later:<em>

A warm summer breeze played with Alice's hair as she walked down the street, her head bowed and her hands deep inside the pockets of her cardigan. She had surprised John this morning when she had told him where she was going. He had looked sad for a moment and asked if she was sure and she replied that she had made up her mind. The paving stones soon turned from cobbles to slabs as she made her way down Giltspur Street. She finally looked up and saw the hospital, huge and gleaming white in the July sun.

She hadn't been here since it had happened. The Fall. She couldn't help but feel sick as she craned her neck to look up at the rooftop. It was just so high. Feeling sick, she turned her gaze back to the ground. There was hardly anyone around. Just an old man waiting at the bus stop and a couple of pigeons scavenging on the street.

Her Sherlock Holmes, the man who wasn't afraid of anything, had jumped off the roof of Saint Bartholomew's on 15th January that year. She sighed and thought about how scared he must have been. And suddenly, she couldn't keep the pain at bay any longer. With a sob, she dropped to the ground on the street corner, sitting on the edge of the pavement. She rested her head in her hands and let the tears she had held back for so long come shaking through her. Eventually, she sat up straight and wiped her face with the back of one hand. Now was not the time for a breakdown. She looked back over her shoulder at the building when something caught her eye. She frowned and stood quickly, stepping towards the wall of the hospital. In the blacked out windows just above head height, there were words, finger smudges in the dust. She stepped up onto the bench below the window and leaned forward to see better... And an enormous smile took over her face.

Messages from people, strangers, saying that they believed in Sherlock. A hundred different languages, crude drawings of the now infamous deerstalker hat and a Twitter hashtag, repeated over and over again. People were spreading the word on social networking sites? She quickly brought out her phone and typed in the hashtag. Thousands upon thousands of people, all writing the same thing. Alice burst out laughing and looked around. All of the other windows had the same things written on them and on the street corner, the telephone box had brightly coloured post it notes covering the glass. She took a step back from the building and closed her eyes.

The world believed in Sherlock Holmes. And as long as she kept believing, he would come back to her.

So long as you believe in Sherlock Holmes.


End file.
